¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ New Journeys¬ To the West¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

¬ Editor’s Note:¬ ¬ To preserve the youthful spirit and energy of the writings of the students of Korean International School, the editors have decided to leave some of the grammatical errors and idiosyncrasies from our young writers intact.

¬

2

Foreward¬

The KIS Writers Award was the first whole-school writing competition at our school. From the start, our teachers, students, and parents have supported the competition and worked tirelessly for them. We have had entries from the whole range of our student population from Year 1 up to Year 13. Entries span different categories, from reports to stories to poems. We have even had a separate class for ESL students! The English Committee have received more than a hundred written entries, but have shortlisted the best 60 in this book. Reading through the numerous entries was an immense task for our panel of judges. It was difficult to decide which entries to include the book and which entries were to be chosen as winners - the works that we received were of such high standards.

This year, student works were divided into four categories - fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and ESL. The works that appear in this book have been chosen from a pool of countless submissions, and represent the writing from some of the best writers in KIS. These have been judged according to a strict criteria that not only include obvious indicators like technical and factual accuracy and the organisation and development of ideas, but also more abstract qualities such as originality, imagination and even intangible magic! The process of deciding on the winners was just as stringent. The five judges had no knowledge of the identity of the writers. The winners of each category were chosen by two of these judges, who, although having reviewed the student work independently of each other, returned with the same winners!

The teachers and parents have made this competition and book possible. Both the parents and teachers supported the students’ writing process, encouraging our students and giving them the guidance when they asked for it. The class teachers collected the student works, giving them a light editing before submitting them. The panel of proofreaders then went on to do a final checking of all the work. Next, the IPTA sponsored all the glass awards, deciding on their format and liaising with the manufacturer. From the beginning to the end, the English Committee worked tirelessly to make this writing competition a success. They came up with the rules of the competition and the judging criteria, promoted the competition, shortlisted the works and determined the winners, and put together this wonderful book.

3

The success of this first annual KIS Writers Award should not only be determined by the number of works submitted or by the quality of the student work, but also in the process of writing that produced this work. Students spent much effort on the writing process, completing many drafts before submitting them, typing away at their keyboards, checking and reading aloud and improving their writing again and again. The students have enjoyed the process, reading each other’s works, giving each other feedback, talking to their teachers, their parents, and their friends. They received their certificates and awards with pride, and their hard work and enthusiasm for writing sets an example to others, to show everyone what is possible, what our students are capable of, and what each of them can aspire to. It is this pride in their work and their engagement in the writing process that give us teachers and parents fulfillment, as their elders, their mentors. I look forward to reading next year’s student works, look forward to being surprised again and again, and to see the delights in our students’ faces when they look at their work, happy that they have done the best that they can.

Keith Lau Leader of Learning for English

4

Contents¬ ¬ ● Winning Entries ¬

○ Primary ¬ 2-15¬

○ Secondary 16 - 37¬

● Y1 - 3 Fiction 38 - 46¬

● Y4 - 6 Non-Fiction ¬ 47 - 54¬

● Y4 - 6 Fiction 54 - 98¬

● Y4 - 6 Poetry 99 - 102¬ ● Y4 - 6 ESL¬ 103 - 124¬ ¬

¬ ¬

5

Winning Entries¬ Primary¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

6

Winner: Non-fiction Y4-6¬ ¬ ¬ Hirotaka Ikuta 5K¬ ¬ ¬ Journey to the west is an epic, famous story that is published in the¬ 16th century. This fantastic novel is one of the four great classical¬ stories of China. There are four main characters in the story. They¬ are Wukong, Xuan Zang, Pigsy and Friar Sand. This fantastic story¬ could be divided into four sections.¬ ¬ The first section describes the journey of the King, Sun¬ Wukong. Sun Wukong is a special monkey that was born from a rock,¬ by heaven and earth working together. He became the king of the¬ Fruit and Flower Mountain because he leaped into a waterfall¬ courageously and found a beautiful cave. However he had a problem,¬ he wanted to live forever, so he went to a sage’s temple and met a¬ wise man named Subodhi. He taught Sun Wukong the secret formula¬ and 72 transformations. He went through a lot of dangerous¬ adventures, and he even stole the legendary iron bar at the Dragon¬ Palace where the lived. Due to his disobedient nature,¬ he was trapped under a mountain for 500 years by Buddha as a¬ punishment, at the end of this chapter.¬ ¬ The second section tells you about a new main character Xuan Zang,¬ he is a buddhist monk who will be the hero of the story. His father¬ was murdered by a ferryman. The ferryman took Xuan Zang’s mother¬ and his father’s office. This section also tells you how Buddha hid the¬ true scriptures, which is an important key to the story. Buddha was¬ also looking for someone to find the scripture and bring it back to the¬ East.¬ ¬ The third part is the biggest section of all. It tells about the four¬ main characters having a journey to find Buddha’s scripture that¬ 7

was hidden in . Xuan Zang was riding on his horse following¬ the road called the Silk Road. The Silk Road connects China to¬ India. He met three other characters that were Sun Wukong,¬ Pigsy and Friar Sand. They fought with demons during their way¬ to India, but together they arrived, and found Buddha’s¬ scripture.¬ ¬ The last section tells about the four characters going back to¬ China and being rewarded for accomplishing the mission.¬ ¬ I learned that it is important not to be selfish and not to be a¬ show off. However, I can also learn from Sun Wukong to have¬ courage, help others and to challenge myself. I think everybody¬ has a bit of Sun Wukong in them. I think this story is trying to¬ tell us to help others and not to be selfish. I also learned that¬ teamwork is very important and if you have friends that help¬ and support you, you could do anything!¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

8

Winner: Fiction 4-6¬ ¬ New Journey to the¬ West¬ Leia Tong 6V¬ ¬ I am Cora Ray, I write entertaining books for children. My latest¬ book is called, “Journey to the West”, I can read it to you now.¬ ¬¬ A long time ago, in Alaska, there lived a little girl called¬ Madison. Everybody say she looks different from other people,¬ so nobody wanted to be friends with her. One day, her family¬ tried to sell her. On that very day, she found cardboard box and¬ on it, there were three glowing letters : “F. B. F”. She had no¬ idea what it stood for, but she was going to find out. Inside the¬ box, there was a slip of paper, on the paper it said,¬ ¬¬ “On your journey you will need three strangers to help you¬ succeed.”¬ ¬¬ Madison wanted to take on this mission.¬ ¬¬ On the day her parents took her to the market to sell her, she¬ saw, out of the corner of her eye, the white sails of the boat¬ that was heading to Tokyo. Before she had time to think, she¬ found herself running towards the boat and with three minutes¬ to spare, she boarded it before it set sail for its epic voyage.¬ She was a stowaway, so she had to hide. While she was trying to¬ find a place to hide, she saw a black cat. She was taken by¬ surprise when the black cat stood on its hind legs and said,¬ “Good Morning.” Madison was amazed, she could not believe¬ what she was seeing, but within a few minutes, they had¬ exchanged life stories and became true friends.¬

9

¬¬ When she arrived in Tokyo, she headed to the biggest temple in¬ Japan, not knowing what she was looking for. When she got¬ there, she saw a young man fighting a very old man. She was so¬ worried for the old man but after a few minutes, the young man¬ was on his knees begging for the old man to stop. When the old¬ man spotted her watching him, she said, “Would you like to¬ learning Jujutsu? I can teach you how to protect yourself.” She¬ didn't know why, but she felt she could trust him and decided to¬ stay in the temple to learn this ancient martial art. When¬ darkness fell on her first night, she felt safe and for the first¬ time, not lonely. She closed her eyes and fell asleep and the¬ black cat was purring on her chest.¬ ¬¬ Within a few months, she had become quite good at Jiu Jitsu¬ and was able to defend herself against some of the best fighters¬ in the temple. As a reward, the old man gave her a sacred book,¬ inside she found a slip paper which said,’ You must journey to¬ the West to finish your quest.’¬ ¬¬ Just then, she heard the whistle of the train and saw a group of¬ explorers who were talking about travelling to New York. She¬ knew she had to join them. She told the old man she had to go¬ and he wished her well. Madison knew one day she would¬ return. She asked the black cat if he wanted to join her, the¬ black cat replied, “ It’s my destiny to stay with you.”¬ ¬¬ Once again, she had no money for a ticket so they hid between¬ the carriages. When they arrived in New York, the first thing she¬ saw was the Statue of Liberty. She felt excited about this new¬ city. Once they were off the boat, she had no idea where to go¬ but as they were both quite hungry, they headed for the fruit¬ stall and watched a young girl slipping some cherries into her¬ pockets and quickly ran out of the shop. The young girl was¬ wearing rags and had no shoes on, but she had a twinkle in her¬ eye. Madison decided to follow her. She watched the girl climb¬ through the window of an old, rundown building. On the front of¬

10

the building it read, “St Anthony’s Home for Unwanted¬ Children”.¬ ¬¬ So the young girl was an orphan, and Madison felt like one too.¬ She also believed that the young girl was the last stranger that¬ she needed to meet in order to succeed in her quest. She had¬ met the black cat and the old man but they were no longer¬ strangers, they have become friends. Madison decided to wait¬ and wait for the young girl to come out of the orphanage. It was¬ the next day when she saw the girl again, she watched her¬ climbed out of the same window and down the stairs. She¬ marched straight up to Madison and demanded to know why she¬ had followed her, and was now waiting for her. This small child¬ sounded a lot older than she looked. Madison decided to tell her¬ everything and even when the black cat joined in with some of¬ the stories, the young girl did not seem afraid or surprised.¬ When Madison had finished talking, the young girl smiled and¬ said that her name was Stephanie.¬¬ ¬ “ I think I am the last stranger you have been looking for.”¬ ¬¬ Suddenly Madison remembered the three initials she had found¬ on the box that had started the journey and she knew she had¬ seen them since arriving in New York. On the side of the tallest¬ building there was a poster with the letters, “F.B.F” . They ran¬ towards it and read the words underneath, it read - “Friends¬ become Family.”¬ ¬¬ They all stood there for a while thinking about what it meant.¬ At that moment, Madison noticed a little door underneath the¬ poster. She reached down, opened it, and looked inside, she¬ couldn’t believe her eyes, for in front of her were…..¬ ¬¬ “Ohhhh, why did you interrupt me, I am just getting into the¬ best part of the story.”¬ ¬¬

11

“Sorry about that honey,” said mum, “but you can finish telling¬ your story after dinner.”¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

12

Winner: Poetry Y4-6¬ ¬ New Journey to the¬ West¬ Lauren You 6C¬ ¬¬ ¬ Slowly striding toward the setting sun¬ Along the trail where traders trade¬ To finish a quest that lead them here¬ To finish a journey to the west¬ ¬¬ Ride a horse of blinding white¬ With a Monkey Ling¬ And along with a Lazy ¬ Trek along with a Friar too¬ ¬¬ Retrieve the scrolls¬ Of the sacred god¬ From the temple that lies¬ Beneath the setting sun¬ ¬¬ Face the dangers¬ With courage within¬ Battle your fears¬ Conquer the tests¬ ¬¬ Run away from¬ Those who want¬ Longer lives from¬ ’s flesh¬ ¬¬

13

Yearning forgiveness¬ For wrongdoings done¬ Discipline given¬ Another chance¬ ¬¬ Fight the weariness¬ Stand up to your sleepy state¬ Believe in yourself¬ And don’t ever give up.¬ ¬¬ Don’t fill yourself¬ Up with despair¬ For you will succeed¬ When the time has come¬ ¬¬ Monkey, a Monk,¬ A Friar and Pig¬ A group of odds,¬ Together to win¬ ¬¬ A magical¬ Mystical¬ Challenging¬ And unimaginable¬ ¬¬ Journey of friends¬ Journey of courage¬ Journey of wits¬ And Journey To The West¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

14

Winner: ESL Y4-6¬ ¬ New Journey to the¬ West¬ Sophie Sze 5K¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time,¬ There was a who loved to rhyme.¬ He lived in a place with a lot of slime,¬ Where he liked to play on his slide.¬ ¬¬ He was magical,¬ Nothing was impossible for him.¬ But he was also very naughty;¬ He always caused tragedy.¬ ¬¬ He was detained under a mountain¬ For five hundred years.¬ No matter how loud he shouted,¬ No one could ever hear.¬ ¬¬ A monk named Tang San Zang,¬ Wished to retrieve Buddhist scriptures for the East.¬ promised to help,¬ So he set him free.¬ ¬¬ , half pig half ,¬ Was greedy and loved romance.¬ And Sha Wujing, a hard-working man,¬ Followed Tang San Zang till the end.¬

15

¬¬ They had a lot of challenges.¬ Some were very difficult.¬ But they overcame them all.¬ There were battles they had never fought before.¬ ¬¬ They succeeded in their mission,¬ And went back to China.¬ Everyone was delighted,¬ The East celebrated with joy!¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

16

Winner: Non-fiction Y1-3¬ ¬ Journey to the West¬ Alfie Sham 2J¬ ¬ The story begins with a Monkey, who is born from a rock. He¬ learns how to walk, climb, swim, drink water and eat. He finds¬ a cave with many flowers, trees, bamboos, food, beds, waterfall¬ and a shiny diamond chair for Monkey King. The cave is like a¬ paradise.¬ ¬ The Monkey King meets a woodcutter one day when he went on¬ a trail. The woodcutter tells the monkey to meet Subodhi in the¬ temple. The monkey wants to be Subodhi’s student because he¬ wants to live forever. Subodhi accepts the monkey’s request and¬ named him as ‘Sun Wu Kong.’¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

17

Winner: Fiction Y1-3¬ ¬ New Journey to the¬ West¬ Hailey Ng 3F¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ One day, Buddha gave a new task to the Tang Monk to visit Hong¬ Kong in 2017. “Tang Monk, this is a very challenging task, and I¬ hope you can find out if there are any interesting things or¬ technologies that can learn and bring back to our home, so that¬ it can improve people’s live,” said Buddha. The Monkey King,¬ lazy Pigsy, the Tang Monk and the White Dragon Horse¬ accompanied the Tang Monk to start their adventurous journey¬ to the West.¬ ¬¬ “Maybe we could go there by boat,” said Pigsy. The Monkey King¬ said, “Well, Pigsy I don’t think your idea is quite possible.”¬ Then, the Tang monk, who was the Master, suggested that they¬ should rather keep going instead of fighting. As they were¬ walking, the Monkey King climbed up one of the trees next to¬ him and he found a hidden tree hole. He was guessing if it could¬ be the secret entrance to Hong Kong in 2017. The Tang Monk¬ suggested going inside to check it out.¬ ¬¬ All of a sudden, they slid down a very long, narrow and deep¬ tunnel. They found themselves in a strange place they have¬ never been to. They saw a huge signage which said it was Hong¬ Kong and they realized they were already at their destination.¬ Pigsy looked up and he questioned why there were so many¬ elephant-like monsters moving all around. Hailey and Jeana¬

18

were laughing at the group because they were wearing the¬ ancient outfits. Hailey and Jeana were curious and they¬ approached the group to check out who were they. The Master¬ said, “We came from a place far away, and we have never been¬ here.” Hailey and Jeana used many different languages to greet¬ them. “Bonjour? Nn-nyeong? Hello?” Their faces looked puzzled.¬ Eventually, Hailey and Jeana led them across the road and¬ explained to them what traffic lights and cars were.¬ ¬¬ Ding-Dong! The bell rang. Hailey and Jeana had to go back to¬ the school and they invited the group to visit the Korean¬ International School. The Tang Monk agreed. The four special¬ guests were welcomed by Mr. Chadwick. Then, they joined the¬ factory visit at Maxim’s. Pigsy was excited because he thought¬ he could eat a lot of delicious bread. The Master discovered that¬ there were many robots working at the production line. He said¬ to the Tang Monk that the technology was amazing and they¬ should bring back one robot home to make bread more¬ efficiently.¬ ¬¬ Before they left, the manager of Maxim’s presented a robot to¬ the Tang Monk and his friends as a surprise. In return, the¬ Monkey King pulled out his hair, turned it into a cookbook with¬ secret recipes and gave it to the Manager.¬ ¬¬ Suddenly, a strong light beam appeared in front of them, and it¬ was the time for them to go home. They said goodbye to¬ everyone. “It was such a memorable and inspiring trip for us, I¬ would miss Hong Kong and all of you,” said the Monkey King.¬ ¬ ¬¬ ¬

19

Winning Entries¬ Secondary¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

20

Winner: Fiction Y7-9¬ ¬ New Journey From The¬ West¬ SUN, Ming Kin Apollo- Y9WM¬ ¬ Last¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ summer, my family emigrated to the Hawaiian Island – Oahu.¬¬ We boarded ¬¬ the Star ¬¬ of Honolulu ¬¬¬ on a beautiful ¬ Sunday ¬¬ at the¬¬¬ Hong Kong International ¬ Cruise ¬ Terminal. ¬ Every ¬¬¬¬ day of our voyage,¬¬ I could ¬ see ¬ dolphins ¬ and ¬ whales ¬ jumping ¬ and ¬ swimming ¬ along¬¬ the cruise ¬ ship. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ On the 14th day of our journey, ¬¬ the magnificent¬¬ Oahu island ¬ finally ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ came into view. I could see seagulls¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ flying in the air waving at us. As the cruise ship was moving¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ further into the pier, we could see the Pearl Harbor Memorial¬¬¬ and the navy ¬ base. ¬¬ We were ¬ thrilled ¬¬¬¬¬ to start our new life¬¬ on this ¬ wonderful ¬ island. ¬¬ At the ¬ same ¬ time, ¬ my ¬ mother ¬ was ¬ offered¬¬ a teaching ¬ job ¬ at ¬ the ¬ University ¬ of ¬ Hawaii ¬ at ¬ Oahu. ¬ My ¬ sister¬¬¬¬ and I were looking ¬ forward ¬¬ to meeting ¬ with ¬¬ the native ¬ Hawaiian¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ people and watching the Hula dance. Dad also suggested¬¬¬¬ that we made some ¬ welcoming ¬¬¬¬ gifts for the Hawaiian ¬ children.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Grandpa and Grandma were excited too, it was their very¬¬ first journey ¬¬¬ to the west. ¬ They ¬ wondered ¬¬¬¬¬¬ if the west is a lot¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ different from the east. We were not sure about the customs of the native people and the local food.¬ ¬¬ Dad¬¬¬¬ told me the Pearl ¬ Harbor ¬ Memorial ¬ marked ¬¬ the Japanese ¬ surprise¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. My heart saddened¬¬ after hearing ¬ dad’s ¬ comment. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I planned to visit the Memorial¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ someday. We disembarked at the Aloha Tower Pier no. 4.¬¬ A chauffeured ¬ limo ¬ picked ¬ us ¬ up ¬ and ¬ drove ¬ us ¬ to ¬ our ¬ new ¬

21

home.¬¬¬¬ There were over thousands ¬ soldier’s ¬¬¬¬ name on the memorial¬¬ and some ¬¬ red flowers ¬¬¬¬¬ lay next to the plaque. ¬¬¬ I also saw¬¬¬ some navy officers ¬ prayed ¬¬¬ to them. There ¬¬¬ is a battleship ¬ called¬¬ “USS Missouri” ¬¬¬¬ next to the Memorial. ¬ There ¬¬ were many ¬ dead¬¬¬¬ bodies in the battleship ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and they could not be pulled out. According¬¬ to one ¬¬ of the ¬ naval ¬ officers, ¬ the ¬ retrieving ¬¬ of the ¬ sunken¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ battleship might adversely affect the surrounding environment.¬¬ ¬¬ Our¬¬ new home ¬¬¬¬ was a two storey ¬ single ¬ family ¬ house ¬ located ¬¬ on the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Hilario Street near the Honolulu Park. It was huge when compared¬¬ to what ¬ we ¬ had ¬¬ in Hong ¬ Kong. ¬ We ¬ lived ¬¬¬ in a cramped ¬ apartment¬¬ in Hong ¬ Kong. ¬ Although ¬ our ¬ old ¬ home ¬ had ¬ three ¬ bedrooms,¬¬ it was ¬ nothing ¬ when ¬ compared ¬ to ¬ the ¬ new ¬ house. ¬ Dad ¬ bought¬¬ the house ¬¬¬ a year ago, ¬ when ¬¬¬¬ he was on business ¬¬¬ trip in Honolulu.¬¬ He thought ¬¬ it would ¬¬ be ideal ¬¬ for kids ¬ and ¬ our ¬ grandparents.¬¬ On the ¬ first ¬ floor ¬¬¬ of the house ¬ was ¬¬ a 1000 ¬ square ¬ feet¬¬ living room, ¬¬¬ a study room, ¬¬¬ two full bathrooms ¬¬¬ and a spacious¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ kitchen. There was also a three cars garage and a backyard¬¬ with several ¬¬ pear trees. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ My sister and I were thrilled ¬ to¬¬¬¬ live in the spacious ¬ house. ¬¬ We checked ¬¬¬¬ out all the rooms ¬¬ and spaces.¬¬ On the ¬ second ¬ floor ¬¬¬ of the house, ¬ there ¬ were ¬¬ six bedrooms¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ overlooking the Hilo bay. I had the bedroom with extra¬¬ close space. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ My sister was not happy about ¬¬¬ it. My bedroom ¬ size¬¬¬¬ was 4 times bigger ¬¬¬¬¬¬ of the one in Hong Kong. ¬¬ I wonder ¬¬ why people¬¬¬¬ have so much space ¬¬¬¬ in the West. Space ¬¬¬¬¬ is not issue in here.¬¬ My sister ¬ and ¬¬ I spent ¬ days ¬¬ to explore ¬ every ¬ corner ¬¬¬ of our new¬¬ home. Grandpa ¬¬¬ and Grandma started ¬¬¬¬¬ to grow produce at the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ backyard. I never came across the backyard back at the home.¬¬ We had ¬ lots ¬¬ of skyscrapers ¬ instead. ¬¬¬ In the west, ¬ backyard ¬ is¬¬ a place ¬ where ¬ people ¬ barbecue, ¬ have ¬ fun, ¬ grow ¬ their ¬ own ¬ fruit¬¬ and trees. ¬ Maybe ¬¬¬ I could celebrate ¬¬¬ my 14th birthday ¬¬¬ at our own backyard.¬ ¬¬

22

We¬¬¬ had our very ¬ first ¬ Hawaiian ¬ meal ¬¬¬¬ at a local restaurant. ¬¬ Dad asked¬¬ the waiter ¬¬ to recommend ¬ some ¬ traditional ¬ food. ¬¬ Our waiter’s¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ name was Joey. He had worked in the restaurant ¬¬ for five¬¬¬ years. He recommended ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ us to try poi, Laulau, Kalua Pig and Lomi¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ salmon. Poi is a thick paste made for taro root that is either¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ steamed or baked or pounded. My sister and I looked at the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ greyish purple paste in our bowl without much appetite. ¬ Mom¬¬ tried some ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and said it did not have much taste. ¬¬¬ The local people¬¬¬¬¬ eat poi as a traditional ¬ filler ¬ starch ¬ dish. ¬¬¬¬ It does not make¬¬ you feel ¬ very ¬ full. ¬¬¬¬ Poi did not look ¬¬ too appealing. ¬ That ¬¬ was so¬ much ¬ about ¬ poi. ¬¬¬¬ The Lau Lau bought ¬ everyone’s ¬ appetite ¬ back.¬¬ In Hawaiian, ¬ Lau ¬ Lau ¬ means ¬ leaves, ¬ because ¬¬ it was ¬ made ¬ of¬¬¬¬¬ layers of taro leaves wrapped ¬ around ¬¬¬¬¬¬ pig or fish. The entire package¬¬ was then ¬ cooked ¬¬¬ in an underground ¬ oven ¬¬¬ for an extended¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ period to make the meat tender. Mom said she would build¬¬ her underground ¬ oven ¬¬¬ at the backyard. ¬¬ The Kalua ¬¬ Pig tasted¬¬ a lot ¬ like ¬ our ¬ Chinese ¬ roasted ¬ sucking ¬ pig. ¬ The ¬ Hawaiian ¬ people¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ bake their pig flat while we roast our pig in a vertical position¬¬ in Hong ¬ Kong. ¬ By ¬ having ¬ the ¬ pig ¬¬¬ in a vertical ¬ position, ¬ most¬¬ of the ¬ fat ¬ will ¬ drip ¬ into ¬ the ¬ collecting ¬ tray ¬ underneath ¬ the ¬ head.¬¬¬¬ It is a lot ¬ healthier ¬ our ¬ way. ¬ To ¬ our ¬ surprise, ¬ the ¬ rice ¬¬ is also¬¬ very popular ¬¬¬ on the island. ¬¬¬¬¬ A bowl of rice comes ¬¬ with each ¬ dish¬¬ we ordered. ¬ The ¬ waiter ¬ explained ¬ that ¬ around ¬¬¬¬¬ 30 % of the local¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ population are of the Asian ethnicity. Pineapples are local produce¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ which grown on red volcanic mud. It is super sweet with¬¬ a tingle ¬ of ¬ tropic ¬ flavor. ¬ Macadamia ¬ nuts ¬¬ is another ¬ favorite¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ snack on the island. The nuts are full of minerals and vitamins.¬¬ The locals ¬ make ¬ many ¬ healthcare ¬ products ¬ from ¬¬ the Macadamia¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ nuts, such as lotion and lip balm. My sister was crazy about¬¬ the coconut ¬ flavor ¬¬ lip balms. ¬¬ She decided ¬¬¬¬¬ to get a few and¬¬ send them ¬¬¬¬¬¬ back to Hong Kong as Christmas ¬ presents ¬¬¬ for her friends.¬ ¬¬ My¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ sister and I go to the Oahu Public ¬ school ¬¬¬¬¬ which is only 10 minutes¬¬ walking distance ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ from our home. The school is a one

23

storey¬¬ tribal house ¬ located ¬¬¬¬¬ on a piece of grassland ¬¬¬¬¬ by the foot of Diamond¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Head. It is a huge tribal house with 20 large rooms line with¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ bamboo mats. All of us students enter the school bare foot. That¬¬ is something ¬ very ¬ different ¬ from ¬ what ¬ we ¬ used ¬ to ¬ back ¬ home.¬ ¬¬ Every¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ morning, we sang the national anthem and chant a prayer in¬¬ Hawaiian language. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ As my sister and I are the new students in class,¬¬ the friendly ¬ teachers ¬ offed ¬¬ us help, ¬ take ¬¬¬¬¬ us to tour the school¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ ground and let us know what to expect. We learn subjects¬¬ as science, ¬ the ¬ Hawaiian ¬ heritage ¬ and ¬ culture, ¬ Math, ¬ English,¬¬¬¬ craft and music class. ¬¬¬ I have learnt ¬¬¬ that the Hawaiian ¬ people¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ worship many god and goodness. They believed that the gods¬¬¬ and the goodness ¬ made ¬¬ the islands, ¬¬ the volcanoes, ¬¬¬ and the mountains.¬¬ Our school ¬ lunch ¬ always ¬ come ¬ with ¬¬ a generous ¬ slice ¬ of¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ pineapple. The main dishes are sweet and sour , spam sushi¬¬ or the ¬ Kalua ¬ Pig. ¬ We ¬ have ¬ rice ¬ every ¬ day ¬¬ at school. ¬¬ It seemed¬¬¬ that they have ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ a passion of rice. All the students ¬¬¬ will sit under¬¬ the Palm ¬ tree ¬ and ¬ listen ¬¬¬ to the teachers ¬ playing ¬ some ¬ Hawaiian songs on their Ukulele.¬ ¬¬ The¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ school trips are the best part of my school life. Back home, we¬¬ have school ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ trips once a year. In Oahu, we have school ¬¬ trip once¬¬ a week! ¬ Yes, ¬ every ¬ week. ¬ One ¬ week ¬ we ¬ will ¬ be ¬ ¬ Bay¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ snorkeling and looking for the rainbow fish. The exit week, we¬¬ will visit ¬¬ the volcano ¬ national ¬ park ¬¬ and look ¬¬¬ at the craters. ¬ We¬¬ also have ¬¬ a chance ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ to look at how real lava flow in the Science¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Museum. Last Christmas, the school took us on a whale watching¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ trip. We left the Hilo Bay on a supersize ¬ catamaran, ¬ travelled¬¬ two hours ¬¬¬¬ out into the Pacific ¬ Ocean ¬¬¬¬ to visit the humpbacks.¬¬¬ They were huge. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ The air comes from their bow holes¬¬ is so ¬ smelly ¬ and ¬ fishy. ¬¬ I have ¬ never ¬ imagined ¬ how ¬ big ¬¬ a whale¬¬¬¬¬¬ can be. We saw six humpbacks ¬ whales ¬¬¬¬ and a few dolphins ¬ on¬¬ the trip. ¬¬ My sister ¬¬¬ and I felt¬¬¬¬exhilarated about the trip.¬¬Oahu is¬¬ an island ¬ full ¬¬ of wild ¬ creatures ¬ and ¬ greeneries. ¬ We ¬ also ¬ visit ¬

24

the¬¬ Fern Grotto ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ on the south side of the island. ¬ These ¬¬¬ are the experiences¬¬ we had ¬ never ¬ had ¬¬ in Hong ¬ Kong. ¬ There ¬¬¬ is so much ¬ to¬¬ learn about ¬¬ and explore. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ We don’t just sit at our desk and memorize¬¬¬ facts and numbers ¬ anymore. ¬ Nature ¬¬ has become ¬¬ our classroom.¬¬ Sea turtles, ¬¬ sea stars ¬¬¬¬¬ and Leis are our companions. ¬ We loved Oahu.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

25

¬ Winner: Poetry Y7-9¬ ¬ CHIU, Cho Hing Regina - Y9WM¬¬ ¬ June is the only month to go for a trip¬ Only thing to bring is clothes¬ Unlucky things always happen¬ Running late is one of those¬ ¬¬ Night time flight is the best¬ Everyone is sleeping on the plane¬ You”ll never guess what I watch¬ The movie, “Never Got the Game” is my aim¬ ¬¬ On the first day,we land in Italy¬ The wind is blowing¬ Hair going crazy¬ Everyone was freezing¬ ¬¬ We go to the beach¬ Enjoy some beautiful views¬ Suddenly I trip and fall¬ This makes me lose my shoe¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

26

¬ Winner: Fiction Y10-13¬ ¬ A Journey to the¬

Unknown ¬ LO, Ting Ho, Christopher - Y13JP¬ ¬¬

My¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ name is Cheung Guan and this is my Story on which I went more¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ than 8000 km away from the only home ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I knew to the City of¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Rome, which fell after a thousand years. This is my account of how the city fell.¬ ¬¬ It¬¬¬¬ was on the fields ¬¬ on Xi’an, ¬ that ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I tended to my rice crops ¬¬ in the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ afternoon spring. The Sun barraged my skin with its bright array.¬¬ Cut, plow, ¬¬¬ rip, dig, those ¬ were ¬ several ¬ actions ¬¬ that were ¬ needed¬¬ to maintain ¬ this ¬ little ¬ plot ¬¬ of land ¬ which ¬ provides ¬ me ¬ food¬¬¬ and a home. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ For the last 2 years I have stayed ¬¬¬ on this farm ¬ and¬¬ I just ¬ could ¬ not ¬ take ¬ it ¬ anymore. ¬ Without ¬ due ¬ hesitation, ¬¬ I put¬¬ up my ¬ land ¬ for ¬ sale ¬ and ¬ sought ¬¬ a better, ¬ adventurous ¬ life. ¬¬ I gathered¬¬ all the ¬ necessary ¬ belongings ¬ and ¬ left ¬ for ¬ the ¬ Huge ¬ City ¬ of Xi’an.¬ ¬¬ Days¬¬ and nights ¬ went ¬¬¬¬ by as I trekked ¬¬ the path ¬¬ to Xi’an, ¬¬ dirt turned¬¬ into stone ¬¬¬ and the people ¬ along ¬¬¬ the road became ¬ numerous.¬¬ In the ¬ Midday, ¬¬ I trekked ¬¬ to see ¬¬ a monolith ¬¬ of such ¬¬ a city.¬¬ The Gates ¬¬ of Xi’an, ¬ made ¬ with ¬¬¬ age old bronze, ¬ guarded ¬¬ by towers¬¬¬ filled with archers. ¬¬¬ The City bustled ¬¬¬¬¬ with life with smoke edging¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ across the horizon. Deep in the heart of the bustling sprawl,¬¬ I knew ¬ that ¬ there ¬ were ¬ ways ¬ to ¬ the ¬ illustrious ¬ east. ¬ The ¬ streets¬¬¬¬¬ were full of life, people ¬ going ¬ about ¬¬¬ their daily affairs, ¬

27

traders¬¬¬ sought to hemorrhage ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ as much coppers as they could. Bankrupting¬¬ the naive ¬ traveller. ¬¬ I walked ¬ around ¬ this ¬ controlled ¬ chaos¬¬ and very ¬ soon ¬¬¬¬ I heard the drunken ¬ cries ¬ from ¬¬ the Three ¬ Dragon¬¬ Tavern. Mustering ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ my feeble courage, I plunged into the fire.¬¬ ¬¬ The¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ tavern was a hive of scum and villainy, filed with all kinds of¬¬ shady characters ¬¬¬¬¬ all over the Middle Kingdom. ¬ Mercenaries ¬ from¬¬ the northern ¬ steppes ¬ were ¬ confined ¬¬¬ to a corner, ¬ sharpening¬¬ their blades. ¬ Smugglers ¬ played ¬¬ their board ¬ games, ¬ outwitting¬¬ one another ¬¬¬ in the wooden ¬ establishment. ¬ There ¬¬ was however,¬¬ one man ¬ that ¬ stood ¬¬ out from ¬¬ the crowd. ¬¬¬¬ He had a leather¬¬ jacket, outfitted ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ with a helmet from unknown origin. His¬¬¬¬¬ sword was also from unknown ¬¬ make. Fuelled ¬¬¬¬ by my desire for¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ adventure, I approached him carefully and asked him ¨Where¬¬ do you ¬ get ¬ these ¬ antiques ¬ from?¨ ¬ Finishing ¬¬ his drink, ¬ the ¬ unknown¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ man told me with just one word ¨Rome¨. ¬ Intrigued ¬¬ I asked¬¬ again ¨What ¬¬¬¬¬ is Rome¨ The man became ¬ clearly ¬ incensed ¬ with¬¬ my presence. ¬ ¨Ask ¬¬ me one ¬ more ¬ question ¬ and ¬¬ I’ll make ¬ sure¬¬¬ you will speak ¬ again”. ¬ Shocked ¬ with ¬¬ the threat ¬¬¬ and his armed¬¬¬¬ goons, I left immediately ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ with a tail between my legs. I came¬¬ out onto ¬¬ the streets ¬ again, ¬ blending ¬¬¬¬ in with the numerous ¬ faces.¬¬ It appears ¬¬¬¬ I had to find ¬ another ¬ way ¬¬ to the ¬ West, ¬¬ I knew ¬ just¬¬ the idea. ¬ The ¬ Markets ¬ facilitated ¬ trade ¬ between ¬¬ the unknown¬¬¬¬ West with the Sassanids ¬¬ and beyond. ¬ Caravans ¬ would ¬ fulfill my thirst for adventure.¬ ¬¬ The¬¬¬ markets were overflowing ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ from goods all over China and the gateway¬¬ to the ¬ west. ¬ Freshly ¬ weaved ¬ silk ¬ from ¬ the ¬ mulberry ¬ trees¬¬ in Zhejiang, ¬ Finely ¬ decorated ¬ porcelain ¬ from ¬ the ¬ famous ¬ artisans¬¬ of Jiangxi ¬ and ¬ exotic ¬ tea ¬ leaves ¬ from ¬ the ¬ fringes ¬¬ of the ¬ Kingdom¬¬ in Manchuria. ¬ Traders ¬ endlessly ¬ haggled ¬¬ to get ¬ the ¬ best ¬ prices,¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ which I only know too well as a farmer. I looked for stalls which¬¬¬ dealt with exotic ¬ goods, ¬¬¬¬ I saw one dealing ¬¬¬¬ with a yellow metal,¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ which was not gold. I asked “Is it from Rome?” ¬¬¬ He was

28

stunned¬¬¬ and he quickly ¬ rebounded ¬ with ¬¬ an answer, ¬ saying ¬ “Yes, ¬ how¬¬ do you ¬ know?” ¬ filled ¬ with ¬ interest ¬ how ¬¬ I discovered ¬ this ¬ knowledge.¬¬ I quickly ¬ replied ¬ “From ¬ a ¬ group ¬ of ¬ thugs ¬ in ¬ the ¬ Three ¬ Dragon¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Tavern”. He frowned slightly with utmost scrutiny, stating¬¬ that “That ¬ pitiful ¬ excuse ¬¬¬ for a Tavern, ¬ filled ¬¬ with dangerous¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ men, evil men. Better be quiet about ¬ Rome, ¬ especially¬¬ in China.” ¬ “I ¬ want ¬¬ to travel ¬¬ to Rome.” ¬¬ I said ¬ with ¬¬ a steadfast¬¬ reply. “What ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ skills do you have which would provide ¬ for¬¬ my merry ¬ company?”. ¬¬ “I have ¬ experience ¬¬ in haggling ¬ and ¬ experience¬¬ in War.” ¬¬ I said. ¬ “There ¬¬¬ Is a lot ¬¬ of people ¬ who ¬ have ¬ these¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ qualities, you can travel with me but what do you offer for¬¬ a place?” ¬ with ¬¬ a silver ¬ tongue. ¬ “20 ¬ Stones ¬ of ¬ Grain ¬ should ¬ be ¬ enough.”¬¬ The trader ¬ paused ¬¬¬¬ but for a moment ¬¬ and nodded. ¬¬¬ I am travelling to the East. “Oh, before I forget, my name is Darius.”¬ ¬¬ I¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ prepared myself for the journey with buying the essentials needed,¬¬ a leather ¬ bottle ¬ of ¬ water, ¬ worn ¬ lamellar ¬ armour ¬ from ¬ my¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ service and a brittle short sword and a month's worth of provisions¬¬ for the ¬ journey. ¬ Very ¬ soon ¬¬¬ I was kitted ¬¬ out with ¬ the ¬ necessary¬¬ items needed ¬¬¬¬¬¬ to trek out into the wilderness. ¬ Darius ¬ and¬¬ his rugged ¬ company ¬ got ¬ ready ¬¬ for the ¬ journey, ¬ armed ¬ with ¬ various¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ weapons and mounted on fierce stallions. Darius approached¬ me ¬ with ¬¬ a chestnut ¬ coloured ¬ horse ¬ and ¬ handed ¬¬ a set ¬ of¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ reins to me saying “It is yours, take care of him for the rest of¬¬ the journey.” ¬¬¬¬ We set out from ¬¬ the gates ¬¬ of Xi’an ¬¬¬ to the western deserts at Dusk.¬ ¬¬ A¬¬¬ week of travelling ¬ through ¬¬¬¬¬¬ the desert was the most gruelling, ¬ most¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ dangerous and most uncomfortable during my rides through¬¬ the Taklamakan ¬ desert. ¬ The ¬¬ sun bombarded ¬¬ us everyday ¬ endlessly¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ without respite. Water became the most important good¬¬ in this ¬ desert, ¬ sweeter ¬ than ¬ gold. ¬ The ¬ sounds ¬¬ of the ¬ yellow ¬ wasteland¬¬ was nothing ¬¬¬ but the malcontent ¬ wind. ¬¬ The food ¬¬ on the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ march was nothing short of just bread and vegetables, ¬¬ laced with¬¬¬¬ sand. The Desert offered ¬ nothing ¬¬¬ to its travellers, ¬¬¬ only a

29

bystander¬¬ and consumes ¬ those ¬ who ¬ fall. ¬¬¬¬¬ 6 Days and a majority ¬ of¬¬ our water ¬ sucked ¬¬¬¬ out by our unquenched ¬ thirst ¬¬ and drooling ¬ with¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ sweat, we arrived in area with arable land “We reached Hotan, the last major city in the Middle Kingdom.”¬ ¬¬ Hotan¬¬ had weathered ¬ sandstone ¬ walls ¬ which ¬ stood ¬¬ out from ¬¬ the orange¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ desert. As soon as the wooden gates opened, we saw numerous¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ caravans stopping to resupply and trading of goods from¬¬¬ the far west. ¬ “Guan,you ¬ might ¬ want ¬¬¬ to keep your ¬ sword ¬ close,¬¬ I do ¬ not ¬ want ¬ to ¬ stay ¬ in ¬ this ¬ place ¬ longer ¬ than ¬¬ I have ¬ to” ¬ muttered¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Darius. We lurked around the markets, refilling ¬¬ our water¬¬ and gathering ¬ more ¬ provisions ¬¬¬ for the journey. ¬¬¬ As we finished¬¬ up resupplying, ¬¬ I smelt ¬ something ¬ with ¬¬ a musty ¬ smell. ¬¬ I followed¬¬ the scent ¬¬¬¬ as a Cat followed ¬¬¬¬ a piece of string ¬¬ and there ¬ was¬¬ a grill, ¬ roasting ¬ meat. ¬ Lured ¬ by ¬ the ¬ smell, ¬¬ I asked ¬ “What ¬ kind¬¬ of meat ¬¬ is that?” ¬ The ¬ old ¬ lady, ¬ busy ¬ fanning ¬¬ it says ¬ quickly ¬ “Lamb”.¬¬ I took ¬ out ¬ a ¬ few ¬ coppers ¬ from ¬ my ¬ purse ¬ and ¬ took ¬ a ¬ kebab.¬¬ I bit ¬ into ¬ it ¬ awashed ¬ with ¬ multiple ¬ flavours, ¬ it ¬ was ¬ divine ¬ combined¬¬¬¬ with a perfect balance ¬¬ of sweetness ¬¬¬¬ with salt and pepper.¬¬ My moment ¬ was ¬ interrupted ¬¬ by Darius ¬ saying ¬ with ¬¬ a impatient¬¬¬¬¬ voice “Are you done fantasising ¬ about ¬¬¬ being a gourmet?”¬¬ I quickly ¬ finished ¬ my ¬ kebab ¬ and ¬ left ¬ Hotan ¬ as ¬ soon ¬ as ¬ we arrived and we finally left the Middle Kingdom.¬ ¬¬ Very¬¬ soon, Darius ¬¬¬¬ said “We are entering ¬¬¬¬¬ the realm of the Sassanid¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Empire, one of the largest empires in the known world.”¬¬ I asked ¬ out ¬ of ¬ interest ¬ “Are ¬ you ¬ from ¬ the ¬ Sassanid ¬ Empire?”¬¬ Darius paused ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ but for a moment “I will tell you in time,¬¬ now come.” ¬¬ The mountains ¬¬¬ in the region ¬ were ¬ huge ¬¬ with the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ summit capped with white froth, with the mountain air soothing¬¬ our nasal ¬ senses. ¬ The ¬ temperature ¬ grew ¬ colder ¬¬ and slept¬¬ into freezing ¬ nights, ¬ covered ¬ with ¬¬ a mountain ¬¬¬¬ of wools and rags¬¬¬ that the caravan ¬ offered. ¬ Nothing ¬ happened ¬¬¬ in our mountain¬¬¬ route but suddenly, ¬ Darius ¬ seemed ¬¬¬¬¬ more on edge than usual.¬¬ It went ¬ to ¬ the ¬ point ¬ he ¬ held ¬ his ¬ scimitar ¬ with ¬ his ¬ right ¬

30

hand¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ constantly. “Wait here, I will check ahead.” Darius muttered,¬¬ he galloped ¬¬ off down ¬ the ¬ path ¬ and ¬ the ¬ company ¬¬¬ of 30 men¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ waited, all drawn from the Middle Kingdom and the Sassanid¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Empire and beyond. 30 minutes went by and he came back¬¬ in due ¬ haste ¬ and ¬ said ¬ “There ¬¬¬ is a party ¬¬ of marauding ¬ bandits¬¬ in the ¬ region, ¬ numbering ¬ around ¬ 15, ¬ we ¬ must ¬ take ¬ them ¬ out.”¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ “Why” I asked? “They pose no threat.” Darius quickly snapped¬¬ a reply ¬ back ¬ at ¬ me ¬ stating ¬ “Travelling ¬ on ¬ the ¬ path ¬ for ¬ 15¬¬¬¬¬ years has made me experience ¬¬ rough things, ¬ terrible ¬ things.” ¬ Gasping¬¬¬ for air and ¬ touching ¬¬ my shoulder ¬ “Trust ¬¬¬ me on this”. ¬¬ I smiled and the company readied for battle.¬ ¬¬ We¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ followed Darius under the cover of darkness, we were in a loose¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ formation and we spotted the bandits, sharpening their swords¬¬ and eating ¬ their ¬ catch ¬¬¬¬ of the day. Darius ¬ ordered ¬¬ the men¬¬ to stretch ¬ their ¬ bows. ¬ The ¬ wind ¬ howled ¬ and ¬ Darius ¬ shouted ¬ “Loose!”.¬¬ Arrows whistled ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ in the air and hit their intended targets¬¬ and Darius ¬ swirled ¬¬ his scimitar ¬¬ and shouted ¬ “Charge!” ¬ and¬¬ men shouted ¬¬¬¬¬¬ in unison and the fight began. ¬¬¬¬ I engaged a medium¬¬¬ sized man, equipped ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ with a club with a black jerkin. ¬¬ I lunged¬¬ my sword ¬ onto ¬¬ his arm ¬ and ¬ successfully ¬ parried. ¬¬ He then ¬ dealt¬¬ a series ¬ of ¬ blows, ¬ trying ¬ to ¬ knock ¬ me ¬ off ¬ my ¬ feet ¬ and ¬ he ¬ did.¬¬ I dodged ¬ his ¬ mighty ¬ blows ¬ and ¬ got ¬ it ¬ and ¬ threw ¬ dirt ¬ in ¬ his ¬ eyes¬¬ and screamed ¬¬ in agony. ¬ Using ¬¬ this opportunity, ¬¬ I stabbed ¬ him¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ through the stomach with my trustee sword and he became lifeless.¬¬ My heart ¬ was ¬ still ¬ pounding ¬ and ¬ the ¬ day ¬ was ¬ won, ¬ just. ¬ 5¬¬ of our ¬ company ¬ was ¬ killed ¬ during ¬ the ¬ hectic ¬ chaos ¬ that ¬ ensued ¬ during¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ battle and I sat down with Darius on a fallen branch ¬ saying¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ “How far is the next stop?” Darius ¬¬ still cleaning ¬¬¬ his sword from¬¬ the bloodstains ¬ told ¬¬¬¬ me “3 days ride, ¬¬¬¬ as the crow flies. ¬¬ Do you¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ want to talk about it?”. “I can never understand ¬ taking ¬¬ a life,¬¬ missed opportunities, ¬ family ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and revoking the life to live.” Darius¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ replied with his old wisdom “The hardest part is sparing a life,¬¬ not taking ¬¬ it, some ¬ people ¬ who ¬¬ live deserve ¬¬¬ to die, some ¬

31

people¬¬ who have ¬ passed ¬ deserve ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ to live. It is a hard question ¬ which haunts me still, lingering on my mind.”¬ ¬¬ We¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ looted what was useful and buried the dead. I found a new sword¬¬¬¬¬ which could be a replacement ¬¬¬¬¬¬ and antique as well as chainmail¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ armour. We then moved on to another City, being introduced¬¬ once again ¬¬¬ to the irritant ¬ sand. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ The sand in my boots never¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ seem to go away from the wasteland. ¬¬¬¬ My Horse grew tired,¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ cantering over 5000 kilometers. On a quiet day, Darius stood¬¬ in awe, ¬ he ¬ then ¬ said ¬ “We ¬ have ¬ made ¬¬¬ it to Baghdad, ¬ an ¬ important¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ trade city on the Silk Road.” “What ¬¬¬¬ goods do they trade?”¬¬ I said ¬ with ¬ a ¬ tired ¬ face. ¬ Darius ¬ said ¬ “Trying ¬ to ¬ get ¬ a ¬ Business¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Acumen eh? Well they deal in Dates and Lapis Lazuli, a rare¬¬ blue dye.” ¬ Baghdad ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ was a new city that I was captivated ¬ by,¬¬ the people ¬ and ¬¬ the architecture ¬¬¬ of the market. ¬ Especially ¬¬ in the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Merchant Quarter, with mosaics creating stories of how the Sassanid¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Empire came to be. Darius traded off Spices and Silk from¬¬¬ China for thousands ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ of gold coins that I could dream ¬¬¬ of not working¬¬ ever again. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ “We are going to Rome next, ¬¬¬¬¬ rest up for 3 days¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and we will be on the road ¬ again” ¬ Darius ¬¬¬¬ said to the group. ¬ We¬¬¬¬ stayed in nice accommodations, ¬¬¬¬¬¬ fit for a middle class member¬¬ of the ¬ society. ¬ We ¬ rested, ¬ talked ¬ and ¬ feasted ¬¬ in the ¬ house¬¬ we hired ¬¬¬¬¬¬ in and I got to know ¬¬ my group ¬ members. ¬ The ¬ people¬¬ are very ¬ kind ¬¬ yet shy, ¬ staying ¬ away ¬ from ¬ unfamiliar ¬ ideas ¬ or¬¬¬¬¬ people, loving the stability maintained ¬¬¬¬ after the countless wars¬¬¬¬¬ waged in the region. Unfortunately ¬¬¬¬¬ for us, the days became¬¬¬¬¬ shorter as we started enjoying ¬ ourselves. ¬¬¬¬ By the 3rd day,¬¬ we left ¬ Baghdad ¬ reluctantly ¬¬ to Alexandria, ¬¬¬ a city near ¬ the ¬ ocean.¬¬ We rode ¬ through ¬¬ the plains ¬¬ of Syria ¬ and ¬ south ¬¬¬ of it, filled ¬ with¬¬ fertile farmland ¬¬¬¬¬¬ of swabs of wheat. Canals flowed ¬¬ with fresh¬¬ water, enriching ¬¬¬¬ the land with nutrients. ¬¬¬ We galloped under¬¬ the guise ¬¬¬¬ of the red sun, ¬¬ not burdened ¬¬¬¬ as hard as months ¬ before.¬¬ The journey ¬¬ was filled ¬ with ¬ discovery, ¬ friendship ¬¬¬ and a bit¬¬ of danger ¬ and ¬ hardship ¬ which ¬¬ I carved ¬ for ¬ all ¬ this ¬ time, ¬ but ¬

32

the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ crowning part was Rome, in which we take large boats to the City.¬ ¬¬ After¬¬ a month, ¬ we ¬ reached ¬ Alexandria, ¬¬ a “scholarly ¬ capital” ¬ as ¬ Darius¬¬¬¬ said. It had contained ¬¬¬ all the written ¬¬¬¬ work from the West,¬¬¬ in a library, ¬¬ a great ¬ library ¬¬ in which ¬ Scholars ¬ all ¬ over ¬ the ¬ Roman¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Empire took a tenure to study the vast knowledge ¬ housed¬¬ in such ¬¬ a city. ¬¬ I was ¬ left ¬ dazed ¬ by ¬ seeing ¬¬ a huge ¬ expanse ¬ of¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ water that I have never seen before, ¬¬¬¬¬¬ It seemed to never end and¬¬ the horizon ¬ was ¬ met ¬ with ¬ mystery. ¬ “We ¬¬¬ will be taking ¬¬¬ all of our¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ goods and horses in this Galley to transport all of our goods and¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ horses to Rome, the journey with take 3 weeks at most, if the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ wind is good 19 days. Any questions?” ¬¬ One member ¬ asked ¬ “How¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ treacherous are the seas?” Darius replied with a frank statement,¬¬ “Pirates constantly ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ patrol our route so be vigilant of black¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ sails, I’ll give you 2 days to rest.” The City had stranger ¬ culture¬¬ and architecture, ¬¬¬ It was more ¬ refined, ¬ with ¬ marble ¬¬ and white¬¬ stones making ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ up most of the buildings. The people wore simple¬¬ tunics compared ¬¬¬¬¬¬ to those in Baghdad which adorned ¬ themselves¬¬ with modest ¬ clothing. ¬ Food ¬¬ in Alexandria ¬¬¬ was also vastly¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ different, with a different types of bread. Meats overflow the¬¬ food market, ¬ ranging ¬¬ from lamb, ¬¬¬¬ beef and pork. Combined ¬ with¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Cheese made from milk, it is a proper Roman Feast. I asked Darius¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ “Where are you from?” Darius with an empty face answers¬ plainly, ¬ telling ¬¬¬¬¬¬ me that “I am half Roman, ¬¬ half Sassanid. ¬ It¬¬¬ is a strange ¬ combination ¬¬ I know. ¬ My ¬ father ¬ was ¬¬ a legionary ¬ and¬¬ my mother ¬ was ¬¬ a tailor. ¬ They ¬ both ¬ met ¬¬ in Constantinople, ¬ the¬¬¬¬ heart of the Byzantine ¬ Empire.” ¬¬¬¬ I was taken aback ¬ slightly, ¬ as¬¬ it was ¬¬ a strange ¬ combination. ¬ “Both ¬ the ¬ Byzantines ¬ and ¬ the ¬ Sassanid¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Empires were at war right as you told me?” I replied with¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ inquisitiveness. “It is a strange combination but It helped me¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ mould the person that I am today.” We looked out into the sunset¬ and ¬ enjoyed ¬¬ the midday ¬ breeze ¬ and ¬¬ the incoming ¬ tide ¬ smashing towards the docks.¬ ¬¬

33

¬¬ The¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ galley took off from the port and we set out to the North West.¬¬ Our Navigator, ¬ Horacles ¬ sailed ¬¬ the ship. ¬¬¬¬¬ I spent my days looking¬¬ out into ¬¬ the sea, ¬ smelling ¬¬ the fresh ¬ fragrance ¬¬¬ of the salty¬¬ sea, seeing ¬¬ fish swimming ¬ alongside ¬¬ our wooden ¬¬¬ oars and the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ gusting winds, which dried eyes without mercy. There was a hint¬¬ of black ¬ on ¬ the ¬ horizon, ¬ very ¬ soon ¬¬ I realized ¬¬ it was ¬¬ a pirate ¬ galley,¬¬ I rushed ¬ to ¬ see ¬ Darius, ¬ who ¬ was ¬ napping ¬ at ¬ the ¬ time. ¬ As ¬ soon¬¬¬ as I told ¬ the ¬ news, ¬¬ he shook ¬ with ¬ shock ¬ and ¬ adrenaline ¬ and ¬ cried¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ “Ready for Battle!”. My heart was pumping, I was not ready¬¬ to die ¬ just ¬ yet. ¬ 100 ¬ crewmen ¬¬ of the ¬ ship, ¬ including ¬ our ¬ company¬¬ readied themselves ¬¬¬¬¬ for battle. The pirates unleashed ¬¬ a volley¬¬ of arrows ¬ which ¬ impaled ¬ some ¬¬ of our ¬ crew. ¬ Projectiles ¬ ranging¬¬ from rocks, ¬ arrows ¬¬ and javelins ¬¬ were hurled ¬¬¬ at one another¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ during the skirmish, but very soon, the oars broke as the¬¬¬ pirate galley closed ¬¬¬ in and boarding ¬¬¬¬¬ action was taken. The fighting¬¬¬ was not confined ¬¬ to martial ¬ ability, ¬¬¬¬¬ it was a battle against¬¬¬¬¬ the sea as the waves ¬ disrupted ¬¬ any form ¬¬ of cohesive ¬ fighting.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ People were falling over from the strong winds and waves¬¬ and cried ¬¬¬ as the amount ¬¬ of wounded ¬ piled ¬¬¬¬ up. Me and Darius¬¬ fought alongside ¬¬¬¬ one another and performed ¬¬¬ the best switch¬¬ and successfully ¬ dealt ¬ with ¬ each ¬ others ¬ opponents. ¬ However,¬¬ the battle ¬ was ¬¬ not over, ¬¬¬¬¬ for we had to counterattack. ¬ We¬¬ lunged towards ¬¬¬¬¬¬ the galley and fought several pirates. ¬¬¬¬ I had a cut¬¬ on my ¬ legs ¬ and ¬ the ¬ Captain ¬ approached ¬ us, ¬ with ¬¬ a massive ¬ two¬¬ handed hammer. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Darius and I fought him together but his defence¬¬ was impeccable. ¬¬ A minute ¬¬ of endless ¬ attacks ¬ proved ¬ fruitless.¬¬ By the ¬ time ¬ we ¬ finished ¬ fighting ¬ the ¬ battle ¬ had ¬ been ¬ won¬¬¬ but the Captain ¬ was ¬¬ not willing ¬¬ to surrender. ¬ Darius ¬¬ was struck¬¬¬¬ down by his hammer ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and as he moved in for the finishing ¬ blow, I stood in front of his swing and passed out.¬ ¬¬ Slowly,¬¬ but surely ¬¬ I opened ¬¬ my secreted ¬ eyes ¬¬¬ to the world ¬ once ¬ again¬¬ with Darius ¬¬¬¬ at my side, though ¬¬¬ I felt massive ¬¬¬¬ pain from my chest.¬¬ I muttered ¬ “Darius, ¬ you ¬ alive ¬ and ¬ where ¬ are ¬ we?” ¬ Darius ¬

34

chuckled¬¬¬¬ “Still alive and kicking ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and we are in Rome.” I slowly got¬¬ up and ¬ limped ¬ towards ¬ the ¬ balcony, ¬ finally ¬ seeing ¬ Rome ¬ and ¬ its¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ wonders. The Coliseum was a monolith and the various houses¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ dominated the area. The midday chatting of the markets can¬¬ be heard ¬ from ¬ miles ¬ away ¬ and ¬ there ¬¬¬ is a smell ¬¬ of both ¬ stone ¬ and¬ sewage ¬ beneath ¬¬ the house. ¬¬¬ I have made ¬¬ the journey ¬¬¬ to the Far West and now I am truly satisfied.¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

35

¬ Winner: ESL¬ ¬ New¬¬¬¬ Journeys From The West¬ Kayle Catacutan – Y10CJ¬ ̀ It¬¬ is finally ¬ summer ¬ break ¬ and ¬¬ I have ¬ decided ¬ to ¬ take ¬¬ a trip ¬ to ¬ distress¬¬ all the ¬ pressure ¬ and ¬ tension ¬ from ¬ school. ¬¬ It took ¬ me ¬¬ a few¬¬¬¬ days to choose where ¬¬¬ to go because ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I would love to go to Italy¬¬ to try ¬ some ¬ Italian ¬ cuisine ¬ and ¬ maybe ¬¬ go swim ¬ with ¬ sharks ¬ in¬ Cat ¬ Island, ¬ Bahamas. ¬ But ¬ instead ¬¬ I have ¬ decided ¬¬¬¬ to go to the ¬ Western part of Europe; Paris, France.¬ ¬ It’s¬¬ 5 am ¬ and ¬ my ¬ flight ¬ is ¬ at ¬¬ 9 am. ¬ So ¬¬ I need ¬ to ¬ get ¬ ready ¬ and ¬ pack¬¬ up and ¬ leave. ¬¬¬ I grab my ¬ clothes, ¬ camera, ¬ wallet, ¬ phone, ¬¬ ID and¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ passport. And take a quick shower. After I shower I go downstairs¬¬ to the ¬ dining ¬ room ¬¬ to eat ¬ breakfast. ¬¬ I grab ¬¬ a piece ¬¬ of bread¬¬¬¬¬¬ and toss it in the toaster ¬ then ¬ topped ¬¬¬¬ it off with strawberry jam and some avocado spread.¬ ¬ Its¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ already 7:16 am and it will approximately ¬¬¬¬¬ take an hour to arrive¬¬ in the ¬ airport ¬ depending ¬ on ¬ traffic. ¬¬ Ill be ¬ travelling ¬¬ to the ¬ airport¬¬ by car. ¬ My ¬ dad ¬¬ is going ¬¬ to drive ¬ me ¬ there ¬ with ¬ my ¬ mom. ¬¬ I place¬¬ my suitcase ¬¬¬ in the car’s ¬ trunk ¬ and ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I go in the sit inside ¬¬ the car¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ with my dad while we wait for my mom to get ready. ¬ After ¬ at¬¬¬ least 10 minutes ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ she comes out and we start the engine and drive to the Hong Kong International airport.¬ ¬

36

We¬ arrive ¬ there ¬¬ in about ¬¬¬¬¬ one and a half hours. ¬¬¬ I bid good-bye ¬¬ to my¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ parents and gave them hugs, and then I go through security and¬¬ the immigration. ¬¬¬¬ I book my chair ¬¬ and check ¬¬¬ in my suitcase. ¬¬ I decided¬¬¬ to go buy ¬ some ¬ caramel ¬ macchiato ¬¬ to get ¬¬ an energy ¬ boost because I woke up too early and I’m still partly dead.¬ ¬ At¬¬¬¬ 8:49 my plane number ¬¬ was called, ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I quickly get up and queue ¬ for¬¬ my plane. ¬¬¬¬¬ I get in and settle ¬ down. ¬¬¬ It was already ¬ 8:59 ¬ and ¬¬ I was¬¬ so thrilled ¬¬¬ to go but ¬ then ¬ the ¬ speaker ¬ announced ¬ that ¬ we ¬ will¬¬ be having ¬¬¬ a 20 minute ¬ delay. ¬ But ¬¬ it was ¬ ok, ¬ the ¬ delay ¬ got ¬ shortened¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ and we took off. I plug in my headsets ¬¬ and listen ¬¬ to music looking out the window.¬ ¬ I¬¬ am currently ¬ 39,000 ¬ feet ¬ above ¬¬ the ground. ¬¬¬¬¬ As the sun is started¬¬ to set ¬ the ¬ sky ¬ slowly ¬ became ¬¬ a purple ¬ orange ¬ colour, ¬ leaving¬¬ a heavenly ¬ sunset ¬ view. ¬ The ¬ seatbelt ¬ sign ¬ was ¬ off ¬ and ¬ the¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ stewardess started to serve us dinner. Giving us the choice of¬¬ 3 meals; ¬ Fish ¬ fillet ¬ fried ¬ rice, ¬¬ a fruit ¬ salad ¬ or ¬¬ a ¬ and ¬ egg ¬ sandwich.¬¬ I ordered ¬ the ¬ fish ¬ fillet ¬ fried ¬ rice ¬ with ¬ water. ¬¬ I turn ¬ to ¬ look¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ outside and see the moon and stars illuminated ¬¬¬ the night sky.¬ ¬ It¬¬ is the ¬ next ¬ morning ¬ and ¬¬ I have ¬ just ¬ arrived ¬¬ in the ¬ France ¬ International¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Airport. I have collected my luggage and went through¬¬ all the ¬ immigration. ¬¬ As soon ¬¬¬ as I stepped ¬ out ¬¬¬ of the airport¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ doors. I was hit with a strong breeze; ¬¬¬¬¬¬ it felt like all my stress¬¬ went away. ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I called a cab and took off. I arrived the hotel checked¬¬ in, unpacked ¬¬ my bags ¬ then ¬ quickly ¬ grabbed ¬¬ my purse ¬ and my camera and went out to explore.¬ ¬ I¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ arrive my first place, the Eiffel Tower. ¬¬¬¬¬ I place my camera down¬¬¬¬ and set the timer ¬¬¬ on and started ¬¬¬ to take photographs. ¬ After¬¬ a few ¬ shots, ¬¬ I walk ¬ around ¬ the ¬ place ¬ and ¬ this ¬ rich, ¬ mouth-watering¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ aroma pulls me. I follow it and it leads me to a bakery.¬ My ¬ stomach ¬ grumbles ¬ loudly, ¬¬ I am ¬ quite ¬ hungry ¬¬ I haven’t ¬

37

eaten¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ anything since I got off the plane. I go in and ask for their most¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ recommended treat and they offer an almond scone and a strawberry¬¬ jam filled ¬ croissant. ¬¬ I purchase ¬ them ¬ both ¬¬ and walk ¬ back to my hotel.¬ ¬ I¬¬ have taken ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ a shower and I on the bed, watching ¬ television ¬ scanning¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ through the channels to find something interesting ¬ while¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ eating my pastries. After a few minutes I realize that the sun¬¬¬¬¬ has set and it’s getting ¬ late. ¬¬¬ I slip into ¬¬ my pyjamas ¬¬¬ and get ready¬¬¬¬ to go to bed. ¬¬¬ I lay down ¬ peacefully ¬¬ as my ¬ eyes ¬ started ¬¬ to get heavy and my mind slowly drifted off.¬ ¬ I¬¬¬¬¬¬ wake up bright and early. Today ¬¬¬¬¬ I felt like doing something ¬ fun;¬¬ I decided ¬¬¬¬ to go to the ¬ mall ¬ and ¬¬ go window-shopping. ¬¬¬ I do my¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ morning routine and go out calling a cab taking me to the nearest¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ mall. My cab driver takes me to a mall called “Beaugrenelle¬¬¬¬¬ Paris”. I walk around, checking ¬¬¬¬¬ stuff out. I was walking¬¬ but then ¬¬ a something ¬ caught ¬¬ my eyes. ¬¬¬¬ It was a knitted ¬ sweater¬¬¬¬ with a cat outline ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ on it. I just went and bought ¬¬ it without¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ hesitation. And happily strolled around and got hungry. I¬¬¬ see a France ¬ cuisine ¬ restaurant. ¬¬¬¬¬¬ I get in and sat down. ¬ They ¬ gave¬¬ me menu ¬ and ¬¬¬ I look through ¬¬ the pages. ¬ After ¬¬¬ a few minutes ¬ of choosing I order the beef burgundy with the side of a¬ lobster bisque.¬ ¬ It¬¬¬¬¬¬ didn’t taste good in the beginning ¬ because ¬¬¬¬¬ I’m not used to France¬¬¬¬¬¬ cuisine but after a while everything ¬¬¬ started tasting delicious.¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ After the meal I decided to order a slice of lemon meringue¬¬ pie served ¬ with ¬ sparkling ¬ champagne. ¬¬¬¬ I call the waiter ¬ for the receipt and resume to walk around.¬ ¬ I¬¬ was getting ¬ tired ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ so I went to the park and just sat of the benches¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ watching the ducks waddling in the pond. I sat there for a few minutes and decided to go back to my hotel.¬ ¬

38

If¬¬ you thought ¬¬¬ I only bought ¬¬ a sweater ¬¬ you were ¬ wrong. ¬ There ¬ were¬¬ so many ¬ distractions ¬ likes’ ¬ cosmetics, ¬ clothes ¬ and ¬ souvenirs.¬¬ By the ¬ end ¬¬ of the ¬ day ¬¬¬ I was carrying ¬¬ 8 bags ¬ filled ¬ with ¬ things.¬¬ I rested ¬ for ¬ a ¬ bit ¬ and ¬ went ¬ to ¬ the ¬ museum; ¬ outside ¬¬ I see ¬ the¬¬¬¬ statue of ‘The Thinker” ¬¬¬¬ I take some pictures ¬¬¬¬¬ and go in. I walk¬¬ around admiring ¬ different ¬¬¬¬ varies of artworks, ranging ¬¬ from big clay status to small portraits.¬ ¬ After¬¬¬¬¬¬ about 4 hours in the museum ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ I thought that I should buy some¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ sweets to bring back home for my family so they can taste some.¬¬¬¬ I go to the ¬ grocery ¬ store ¬¬ to pick ¬ some ¬ snacks. ¬¬ I chose ¬ this ¬ “carambar”¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ which is a caramel bar and some bonbons. ¬¬ I purchase¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ them and go back to my hotel room and started ¬ preparing my clothes for tomorrow.¬ ¬ I¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ take a shower and wear my pyjamas ¬¬¬¬¬ and look out the window, ¬ seeing¬¬¬ Paris with bright ¬ lights ¬¬¬¬ and the Eiffel Tower ¬ illuminating ¬ the¬¬¬¬¬ city. I grab my camera ¬¬¬¬ and take a stunning ¬ picture ¬¬¬ of Paris nightlife.¬¬ It looked ¬ like ¬ something ¬ out ¬ of ¬¬ a dream. ¬¬ I lay ¬ on ¬ my ¬ bed¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ staring out the window and I few moments later I drifted off to sleep.¬ ¬¬ I¬¬¬¬¬ wake up the next morning ¬ realizing ¬¬¬¬¬¬ that today was my flight back¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ home. I get ready and check out and walk to the bakery and¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ purchase 5 boxes of pastries to bring home and share. I call a¬¬¬¬ cab and we drive ¬¬¬ to the airport. ¬¬¬ I arrive there ¬¬¬ and go through ¬ the usually process in the airport.¬ ¬ I¬¬¬¬ am in the plane ¬ dreaming ¬ about ¬¬ my next ¬ holiday ¬ spot. ¬ Where ¬ should¬¬ I go? ¬ Mexico, ¬ Brazil, ¬ London? ¬ Who ¬ knows ¬ but ¬¬ I am ¬ looking ¬ forward to it. I plug in my headsets and go to sleep.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

39

¬ ¬ Winner: Best Digital Storytelling¬ ¬ New Journeys To The¬ West¬ HO, On Ching Anson¬ LONGID, Katana Harlan¬ ZAHRA, Trinasari Afrisia¬ CAMERON, Ian Alexander¬ ¬¬ In 2020, the dead raised to become flesh eating monsters, the¬ stereotypical zombies from movies and media become reality.¬ ¬ Ron Swanson was stationed in southeast Alberta and his family¬ was west of Alberta.¬ ¬ As humanity crumbled all around him, he took shelter in a¬ butchers shop, after a couple of days, he managed to flee the¬ town and slowly move his hike northwest back home, equipped¬ with only his police vest and his service pistol he survived the¬ outbreak. After a couple of days of fighting and loot scavenging¬ he managed to get a mask and few bullets from the police¬ station for his gun, taking this into consideration he stayed in¬ the shadows, avoiding conflict and conserving as many supplies¬ as possible. Hope is fading away.¬ ¬¬ During his journey he found himself shot at by looters, chased¬ by zombies and killing other survivors for food and water, one¬ day while walking down a street he finds a Canadian military¬ tank and he is forced to hide inside to avoid zombies but when¬ distant gunshots can be heard he knew other survivors were¬

40

mobilising the zombies away from the tank and when he ran¬ towards a mall that happened to be near the tank, there he met¬ a zombie that was chewing a chicken doggy toy.¬¬ ¬¬ Ron, with his egocentric personality, started to realised that¬ they were so many people helped saving his life. He understood¬ that others didn’t have the responsible to protect him. His inner¬ world started to change. As he opened the front door of his¬ house he sees nothing out of the ordinary but he hears a zombie¬ clawing a door as he gets closer thoughts of what could have¬ happened take over his mind. And there he finds his wife,¬ clawing the door to her son's room growling, distraught and¬ broken hearted he shoots one bullet and as he watches the body¬ of once his love of his life, tears fall from his eyes and sadness¬ overwhelms him. He hears a creak of a door opening and he¬ raises his guns but spots the smiling face of his son. As they hug,¬ zombie growls can be heard…¬ ¬ He was a selfish and arrogant police officer before the¬ outbreak, however, he learns the value of sacrificing himself for¬ others during his journey.¬ ¬¬ Link to the digital storytelling:¬ https://youtu.be/E_p20MX6484"¬ ¬ ¬

41

¬ Y1-3 Fiction¬

¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

42

The Monkey King¬ Kashvi Thakkar 1A¬

Once Upon a time, there lived a Princess. She lived in a¬ beautiful castle. One day, she got lost in the jungle. As she¬ walked around in the jungle, she saw the monkey king with his¬ friends. They asked her, “How did you get lost in the jungle?¬ Can we help you in any way?”¬ ¬ She said, “I was looking for my pet dog and cat who had run in¬ to the jungle. They ran far away and then I got lost while¬ chasing them. Could you please help me to find my pets and¬ lead us the way home?”¬ ¬ “Sure,” said the monkey king and friends. They helped her to¬ find her pets and brought them home. Everyone in castle were¬ delighted to see the princess back. They thanked the monkey¬ king and friends. They all lived as one big family.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

43

Journey in the Space¬ Lara Chan 3C¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ “Let’s go for more adventures!” said the Monkey King after they¬ delivered the Buddhist sacred books to the temple.¬ ¬¬ “Well, let’s take a rest by the river first!” said Xuanzang, the¬ monk.¬ ¬¬ There was a gigantic shadow belonging to a bull approaching the¬ team.¬ ¬¬ “Who’s that?” screamed Zhu Bajie, the talking pig, and¬ Xuanzang fearfully.¬ ¬¬ “I’m Metagrallo!” boomed the mega bull.¬ ¬¬ The Monkey King smacked Metagrallo with his Jingu Bang,¬ the magic stick.¬ ¬¬ “Ouch!” yelled Metagrallo, but he was not hurt.¬ ¬¬ “Who can defeat him?” asked Sha Wujing, the friar.¬ ¬¬ Suddenly, there was a loud bang! Metagrallo fell on the ground¬ dying. A football player bounced a football on Metagrallo.¬ ¬¬ “Thanks!” said Xuanzang happily.¬ ¬¬ “What’s your name?” grunted the Monkey King.¬ ¬¬ The football player’s name was Penniford. He had a special¬ weapon called Qweart, which could take people anywhere they¬ wished.¬

44

¬¬ “Penniford, let’s have adventures!” asked Zhu Bajie.¬ ¬¬ “Could we take the Qweart?” asked Sha Wujing.¬ ¬¬ “Yes, but it may bring us to the wrong place.” responded¬ Penniford.¬ ¬¬ The team boarded the Qweart and fell asleep during the trip.¬ When they woke up, they had no clue where they were.¬ ¬¬ “I think we are travelling to a planet called Ballstak!” cried the¬ Monkey King. “Xuanzang, could you search about this planet?”¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang nodded.¬ ¬¬ Ballstak was a planet which revolved around the center star in¬ Beckhamy’s belt. Ballstak was famous for its great goalkeepers¬ in football. Their best goalkeeper was Synakick.¬ ¬¬ “Here we are!” screamed Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing fearfully.¬ ¬¬ “Hey! No intruders here! Into the jail!” yelled Zackory, the¬ chief police of Ballstak.¬ ¬¬ “Oh no! We may need to score a goal, guarded by the famous¬ Synakick.” thought the Monkey King.¬ ¬¬ The team spent a night in jail. On the next day, Zackory woke¬ them up loudly and said, “If you are the first to score a goal,¬ you will be allowed to stay or leave. You will be given a chest¬ of opals and citrines which will give you luck in the future.”¬ ¬¬ Sha Wujing nodded.¬ ¬¬ Later, the team was standing by Synakick. Penniford said¬ bravely, “I shall kick the ball. I am a football player after all.”¬

45

¬¬ The team agreed and cheered up.¬ ¬¬ Penniford nervously took a deep breath and looked at Synakick,¬ who had two hands flying around the goal. “Don’t let him¬ shoot, Synakick!” yelled the cheerleaders.¬ ¬¬ “Let the game begins!” blared the loudspeaker.¬ ¬¬ Synakick was daydreaming. Penniford quickly kicked the ball¬ into the goal. “Penniford wins!” blared the loudspeaker.¬ ¬¬ Zackory rushed in and said, “Here is your chest and you all are¬ now free!”¬ ¬¬ “Surprise!” yelled Synakick and gave out a book. “A book to¬ help your future.”¬ ¬¬ “Thank you!” said the Monkey King and yelled for his flying¬ cloud. “Take us back home!” In a few seconds, they were back¬ on the Earth.¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang gave the chest and the precious book to the temple.¬ He joined the team by the river and everyone chorused, ”Life’s¬ beautiful!”¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

46

New Journeys to the¬ West¬ Jarvis Wong 1N¬ ¬¬ I was trapped in a rock at the top of the mountain. Every day I¬ absorbed the power of the sunlight and moonlight. One day, the¬ rock explo……..ded. Here I am! I am Jason the Monkey King.¬ ¬¬ One day, I went to a mountain. Suddenly, I dropped to the¬ ground and I found a cave. Luckily I met Master Puti and he¬ taught me 72 powers of disguise. I could turn into anything I¬ wanted to be. Master Puti gave me a strong armor with a¬ powerful stick which was used to fight off bad villains. He also¬ gave me a flying cloud because I am talented fighter.¬ ¬¬ It was a very hot summer day, I went to a party. There was¬ plenty of food and drinks, I ate and drank all of them. The¬ Buddha was angry and locked me up under the Five Fingers¬ Mountain. 150 years later, I met a young monk named Xuanzang.¬ I promised to help him get the Buddha book from India if¬ Xuanzang helped to free me from the Five Fingers Mountain.¬ ¬¬ I went to the West with my friends. Suddenly, we felt very hot,¬ we saw a flaming mountain. I decided to take the Ba Jian fan¬ from to extinguish the fire. I asked Princess¬ Iron Fan to lend the Ba Jian fan but she refused to give it to me.¬ Then she blew me away to Buddha, the Buddha gave me a pill¬ which made me stable under strong winds. She kept trying to¬ blow me away but the pill kept me stable. She gave me a fake¬ fan. I went to the flaming mountain and tried to extinguish the¬ fire but was unsuccessful. Then I disguised myself as a cow king,¬ this time she gave me the real fan. Finally, the fire was¬ extinguished and we went over the mountain together with my¬

47

friends and Xuanzang and we continued to travel to the West.¬ Successfully, we bought the Buddha book back to China.¬ ¬¬ “Ring, ring”. Then I heard Mommy saying, “Jarvis wake up,¬ Jarvis wake up, we are late for school.” Oh! It was just a dream!¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

48

New Journey to the¬

West¬¬¬ Isla Brown 2S¬

¬¬ Once upon a time there was a monkey king. Far away from the¬ monkey king, there was a God. The monkey wanted to find that¬ God and on the way there was lots of monsters, so the monkey¬ asked some of its friends for help.¬ ¬¬ The monkey’s friends were too scared, but they promised to¬ help him find some friends to go on the adventure. So they¬ walked and walked, but nobody wanted to go. They were all too¬ scared.¬ ¬¬ They walked some more and then they saw a dark shadow. The¬ dark shadow was coming towards them. Then the sun came up¬ and they could see the creature. It was a baby pig. The monkey¬ was wondering why such a small pig could make a huge shadow.¬ The pig looked like she wanted to come with them, so they took¬ the pig.¬ ¬¬ They walked more, but this time they saw a bright light. It¬ looked like a jewel. It was, but it was also a fox. The fox had a¬ belt and on the belt it had the jewel. The fox said he wanted to¬ come, so he came too. The fox’s name was Freddy.¬ ¬ “I love adventures,” said the fox.¬¬ ¬¬ The monkey king said goodbye to his friends and went on the¬ adventure with the baby pig and Freddy Fox. Once they started¬ walking, they saw a big monster with four eyes and about sixty¬ arms and hands and one leg. He looked a bit funny. The whole¬ forest was full of laughter. They stopped laughing because the¬ monster was carrying a sword.¬ The monster was going to kill them.¬¬

49

¬ Freddy stepped up. “I’ll stop them,” he said. He took the jewel¬ off his belt and did some magic with it. The monster was dead,¬ so they headed to the God.¬ ¬¬ Another monster came. He looked just like a person. Freddy¬ stepped up again, but the pig stopped him. It was her turn to¬ fight. She took the jewel from Freddy and she did the magic and¬ gave the jewel back to Freddy.¬ ¬¬ They walked some more and then they saw a castle. They went¬ inside the castle. The monkey king saw his God and suddenly the¬ God called out, “Alice”. The pig ran to the God. The others¬ looked very confused. The God told them that Alice was her pig¬ and she knew that the monkey king was looking for her, so she¬ sent her pig to help them.¬ ¬¬ The fox went back to his mom and the monkey king lived with¬ the God and Alice, so they all lived happily ever after!¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

50

New Journeys to the¬ West¬ Jiyoo Han 2S¬ ¬ Once upon a time, there was a giant cave and inside there was¬ an egg. No one even knows what would happen inside the cave.¬ One day, when the monkey was born from the egg, everyone¬ was surprised and called him Brave Monkey. Suddenly an old¬ monkey said, "The one who can catch a tiger can be the king".¬

The old monkey chose Brave Monkey, then only Brave Monkey¬ could catch a tiger by himself! He became a real brave king.¬ They had a feast and ate their favourite food, bananas. They¬ laughed and giggled very loud. And Brave Monkey found gold! He¬ used all the gold he found as a collection. He even put them on¬ the floor because he might get lost and he could use the gold as¬ a trail. One day the tiger escaped from its cage. The Brave¬ Monkey said, "Leave him alone" and the tiger ran away. After¬ that they had a celebration for Brave Monkey. He received ten¬ awards and medals for being brave and saving them.¬

Years to years, days to days, Brave Monkey grew bigger and¬ stronger. Then Brave Monkey came back to his home. Then¬ Brave Monkey heard a very scary voice from under his bed. It¬ was a dragon! But the dragon was very friendly. Then Brave¬ Monkey felt a little tingle in his body. His fur was all grey. And it¬ was because the dragon had put a spell on him. But still he was¬ king and everyone still loved him. Then one day his friend¬ suddenly died. He hadn't been feeling well for the past two¬ weeks. Brave Monkey was very lonely and sad. Then one day¬ Brave Monkey died in his sleep. Because when Brave Monkey was¬ sleeping, the released tiger ate him.¬

51

Y4-6 Non-fiction¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

52

The Real Xuanzang¬ Stanley Joo 5L¬ ¬ ¬ Introduction of Xuanzang¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang was born in the T'ang dynasty in 602 AD and died in¬ 664 AD. He is famous for bringing to China. He was a¬ monk, a scholar and a translator. He inspired Wu Cheng’en to¬ write the novel the Journey to the West.¬ ¬¬ Early life¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang was born in Henan and went to the imperial academy¬ (Taixue). He was interested in becoming a Buddhist monk. One¬ of his ancestors was Chen Shi, a minister of the Eastern Han¬ Dynasty. His father was a conservative Confucian in the Sui¬ Dynasty. But because the Sui Dynasty was near its end, it led to¬ his father giving up office.¬ ¬¬ His Journey to India¬ ¬¬ He went to India to study Buddhism and brought Buddhism to¬ China. However it was not a straight road (metaphor). He had¬ to go along the Silk Road, through the Gobi Desert, the Tien¬ Shan mountains, and Issyk Kul Lake¬ ¬¬ Finally, he reached India after 14 years. He studied in India for¬ one year. He came back in 645 AD.¬ ¬¬ Return to China¬ ¬¬

53

It was reported that he brought over six hundred Mahayana and¬ Hinayana texts (that includes the Mahaprajnaparamita Sutra),¬ seven statues of the Buddha and more than a hundred Saria¬ relics. He also translated the texts. Because of doing everything¬ I mentioned earlier, the Emperor of China ordered a Tang¬ calligrapher called Suiliang to insert two stele stones known¬ as ‘The Emperor’s Preface to the Sacred Teachings’ at the¬ ‘Giant Wild Goose Pagoda.’¬ ¬¬ His Legacy in fiction¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang’s journey inspired Wu Cheng’En to write ‘Journey to¬ the West’. Also in the (Mongol Empire), there was¬ a play called Wu Changling. In the west, Xuanzang (Journey to¬ the West) became famous by Arthur Waley’s translation and by¬ the cult TV series ‘Monkey.’¬ ¬¬ Conclusion¬ ¬¬ Xuanzang was a great man who did great things. His action had¬ huge amounts of effects (mostly good) on China and The World.¬ His actions and influences will never be forgotten.¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

54

The Silk Road: Ancient¬ Trade system of the past¬¬ Pratyay Kinhekar 5L¬ ¬ What is the Silk Road?¬ ¬¬ The Silk Road was basically many roads connected. It was very¬ big when you know the fact that it takes 2 years to walk fully¬ from China to Rome and back. It started in China and goes¬ across Asia and India all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.¬¬ ¬¬ Trade system¬ ¬¬ The Silk Road was across Africa, Asia and Europe. The items¬ they traded were silver, gold, pots, and cups. China traded¬ many of the utensils like bowls and cups while India traded¬ different types of spices.¬ ¬¬ Religion¬ ¬¬ Religion was a big part of the Silk Road. Many walked months¬ and years to learn the cultures of other nations. The monk¬ Xuanzang came to India to learn Buddhism and Marco Polo came¬ to learn the cultures of all of Asia. You see, the religions which¬ were spread by the Silk Road were Buddhism, Hinduism and¬ even Christianity.¬ ¬¬ Marco Polo¬ ¬¬ Marco Polo was also a famous person who traveled on the Silk¬ Road. Marco Polo was born in 1254 AD and died on the year¬ 1324 AD. He was not only known for traveling the Silk Road, but¬

55

also for the book he wrote - “The Travels of Marco Polo”. Marco¬ Polo’s travel to Asia lasted 24 years. He traveled all over Asia¬ and then became a confidant of the Mongol ruler Kublai Khan.¬ He was later captured in a battle between Venice and the rival¬ state of Genoa.¬ ¬¬ The Monk Xuanzang¬ ¬¬ One of the many great people who walked across the silk road¬ was the Monk Xuanzang. Monk Xuanzang was born on the year¬ 602 AD and died in 644 AD. He was a Chinese Buddhist scholar.¬ He became famous for his travels to India in search of Buddhist¬ books. His travel to India was retold with demons and imaginary¬ things as “The Journey to the West” by Wu Cheng’en nine¬ hundred years after Xuanzang’s death.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

56

The Mischievous SUN¬ WUKONG¬ Conor Robinson 5L¬¬ ¬ Sun Wukong is a character from “Journey to the West” and also¬ named the Monkey King. He was born on the Fruit and Flowers¬ Mountain and became the king of the mountain. The Monkey¬ King became immortal. His master was Xuan Zang. He was a¬ very mischievous monkey but in the end he became good. He¬ became friends with the new disciples of Xuan Zang and was not¬ mean and grumpy to them although he was a little bit grumpy¬ when they first met.¬ ¬¬ Sun Wukong was a mischievous monkey and did a lot of naughty¬ things. When the ’s mother did not invite him to¬ the annual Peach festival, he took revenge and ate all the¬ peaches in the Heavenly Peach Garden. He rebelled after he¬ was put in charge of the Heavenly Stables and found out it was¬ not a very important post. He decided then to drink all the¬ potions of longevity. When one night, the spirits captured him¬ and brought him to the officials of Hell, Sun Wukong crossed out¬ his name from the book of life and death. That is also how Sun¬ Wukong became immortal.¬ ¬¬ Sun Wukong’s weapon was the Golden Banded Staff (Ruyi Jingu¬ Bang). He took it from the Dragon King in the Eastern Seas after¬ someone told him that the Dragon King had lots of weapons in¬ his palace. The Dragon King got the staff from Heaven to hold¬ the sea in place. Sun Wukong also has lots of powers like he can¬ do seventy-two types of shape-shifting. One time he turned into¬ a temple because he needed to escape from the Heavenly¬ General that was trying to capture him. Another time he turned¬

57

into a beautiful girl because he wanted to capture a demon that¬ liked pursuing girls. He could do all sorts of other things as¬ well. For example, he could also travel thousands of kilometres¬ in one somersault.¬ ¬¬ He was much too mischievous so the Buddha crushed him under¬ the Five Elements Mountain for 500 years. Lots of years later, a¬ person named Xuan Zang was going to India to get some¬ important Buddha scriptures. He found Sun Wukong under the¬ mountain and rescued him. Sun Wukong then became his¬ disciple and bodyguard. On the way, they met other demons¬ that became Xuan Zang’s bodyguards as well. One of their¬ names was Piggy, the demon that pursued girls. Sun Wukong¬ turned himself to a beautiful village girl and when the demon¬ came, he gave him a good beating and forced him to be Xuan¬ Zang’s second disciple. Sandy, the other disciple, was a demon¬ which lives in the the Flowing Sand river and he captured Xuan¬ Zang. , the goddess which sent Xuan Zang to India,¬ came to rescue Xuan Zang and Sandy became his third disciple.¬ ¬¬ The journey to India was very bad because Xuan Zang, Piggy,¬ Monkey King and Sandy encountered lots of terrifying and ugly¬ demons on the way and they needed lots of help from Guanyin.¬ In the end, Sun Wukong became the God of Conquest as a¬ reward for his courage.¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

58

Y4-6 Fiction¬

¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ 59

Journey to the West¬ Hector Ng 5K¬ ¬¬ A long time ago, there was a monkey who born from a rock. The¬ Monkey stretched and fell down from the rock. Suddenly, a sage¬ saved him from the fall. Monkey was very grateful about the¬ Sage’s act and asked the Sage to teach him. During the training¬ of the Monkey by the Sage, he learned new skills but also¬ became mischievous.¬ ¬¬ As years passed by, The Master seemed worrisome due to the¬ behavior of Monkey. Something happened which bothered¬ Monkey as the Master repeatedly tried to talk to him to make¬ him behave in a better manner, like respecting others. Monkey¬ heard his master muttering something , something strange, yet¬ very annoying to him.¬ ¬¬ One morning, when the other students were doing their routine¬ class work, Monkey came late and behaved aggressively as he¬ disliked the way that the Master trained him. In most of the¬ time, the Master could make things right and settle problems in¬ an effective and peaceful way. But this time, the problem was¬ much harder to solve. The master knew that Monkey was born¬ with a special ability which a beam of high energy light like¬ laser could be emitted from his eyes to destroy everything that¬ he hate. This ability would be activated when Monkey became¬ angry. In this setting, Master sensed that Monkey was staring at¬ the Moon. Monkey was going to aim at the Moon, at this level of¬ anger, the energy of the light was so high that was beyond¬ imagination which would result in the Moon’s destruction and a¬ chain reaction was going to happen afterwards to result in the¬ total destruction of the universe. A disaster was coming which¬ all of us would be killed. The Master had no choice but to send¬ his student to help him. Luckily, all the students act together to¬ calm down Monkey and saved themselves and the universe.¬

60

¬¬ The next day, suddenly, Monkey had a strange feeling. He was¬ aware that an asteroid was heading towards the Earth. At that¬ time, Monkey was in bed, he heard a rocking sound. Monkey¬ quickly rushed outside. He noted that the Master was using¬ magic to try to defend the Earth from destruction by the¬ asteroid. Monkey tried his best to help the Master but he was¬ becoming weak, so was the Master. Master told Monkey to go to¬ the Dragon King’s Palace to get a suitable weapon. Monkey¬ dived down the sea rapidly to the Dragon King’s Palace. There,¬ Monkey asked the Dragon King for a weapon. The Dragon King¬ gave three giant weapons to him but it seemed that the¬ weapons were not strong enough to hit the asteroid.¬ ¬¬ Monkey wanted to have a stronger weapon. The Dragon King¬ gave Monkey the Legendary Golden Stick. Monkey returned to¬ the Master instantly, however the asteroid was already very¬ close to Earth. The shield produced by Master could not hold¬ any longer. The shield broke down. In this emergency, Monkey¬ flew on a cloud at full speed towards the asteroid. Monkey¬ whacked the stick at the asteroid. Oh, cheers ! The asteroid got¬ crashed into pieces. The Earth was saved once again.¬ ¬¬ The master said, “Monkey, you did a great job”. In order to¬ reward Monkey, Master sent him up to Heaven. Monkey worked¬ in the Peach Garden in Heaven. After a month of hard work, the¬ peach trees in the garden was growing healthily with lots of¬ peaches, but monkey was so tired. He decided to reward¬ himself with some peaches in order to regain some energy. He¬ ate, altogether four peaches, so delicious! Little did he know¬ about that the peaches were actually served as a special fruit by¬ the Queen in important festival. Monkey’s behaviour was not¬ accepted in the Heaven.¬ ¬¬ Later on, Monkey got punished by the Jade Emperor but he did¬ not accept the punishment, instead he fought against it. He¬ fought with the Twelve Thunder General and won. When the¬

61

Jade Emperor found out that he could not defeat Monkey, he¬ summon Buddha to do the job. Buddha, with his great power,¬ imprisoned Monkey under a mountain for many many years.¬ ¬¬ 500 years later, another Monk went to the mountain and¬ rescued him. The Monk took Monkey on a journey. Halfway, he¬ found Ju Ba Jie and Friar Sand to help him on his Journey. Ju Ba¬ Jie could reshape himself to pretend to be another person as he¬ likes. Friar Sand was a skilled warrior whose power level was the¬ same as Sun Wu Kong. Monkey said that their trip was aiming at¬ finding a script that was supposed to be the Buddha’s wisdom.¬ On their way to the West, they had to fight against those¬ powerful demons. They passed through Jungle to Jungle,¬ demons to demons, trouble to trouble, maze to maze …… Every¬ step was a hard one but they managed to go through it by¬ working as a team with care. At last, Monkey and his gang¬ finally reached the West and gained the Buddha’s Script and¬ brought it back to China to help to educate the people there¬ about Buddhism. They were well rewarded.¬ ¬¬ This story tells us that we have to use our power carefully in a¬ good way to help people and to cooperate with others in other¬ to finish difficult task. If you do something wrong, you would be¬ punished but you will have chances to correct your mistake. If¬ you are a good person, you will always be proud of yourself and¬ be rewarded. Proud means confidence.¬ ¬¬ Farewell readers.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

62

Journey to the West¬ Alistair Lee 5K¬ ¬ Once upon a time there was a high and mysterious mountain.¬ The mountain was so high that its peak pierced through the¬ clouds. No mankind lived there except a group of old monkeys¬ and apes.¬¬ ¬¬ On the top of the mountain stood a gigantic rock in weird shape.¬ The monkeys prayed to the rock as their God. One day the rock¬ cracked. It shook left and right. Honk ! The rock exploded and a¬ golden hair monkey jumped out of it. The other monkeys and¬ apes kneeled and bowed to the golden hair monkey, “long live,¬ our Monkey King!”¬ ¬¬ They monkeys told the Monkey King about their problems. “We¬ are running out of food here. Some of us are dying as we are¬ getting too old, “one monkey said. “The dragon bird told us¬ there was another heavenly place at the other end of the river¬ but we have to cross a steep waterfall that is too high.” another¬ monkey followed.¬ ¬ “Where is the source of the river?” The Monkey King asked. The¬ monkeys pointed him to the direction and then the Monkey King¬ led them to swim opposite to the source down the river. Finally¬ they reached the waterfall. The waterfall was very tall and¬ steep as if it was a silvery curtain hung down from the sky.¬ “Will anyone want to join me?” The Monkey King asked his¬ mates as he stared at the waterfall. Everyone was silent.¬ Without a word, the Monkey King jumped down the waterfall.¬ He fell for a few minutes before he finally reached the bottom¬ of the waterfall and found a waterfall cave. Inside the cave¬ there were lots of food. Bananas, cherries, plums and nuts are¬ everywhere. The floor of the cave was blanketed with a thick¬ layer of moss. “ I found a perfect place for us to live. “ He¬

63

shouted to the monkeys and the echo reached their ears. All the¬ monkeys soon jumped down and reached the cave. “ Yahoo !!¬ This is wonderful!” The monkeys jumped around on the bouncy¬ floor. They named this place the Sky Curtain Cave.¬ ¬¬ “Now we have food, we need to find ways to live forever¬ without suffering the pain of separation by death.” The Monkey¬ King said to his mates. He went out of the waterfall cave and¬ saw a sign that said “drink this water to live forever”. “Haha, I¬ shall see.” The Monkey King took some water. Soon after that¬ he felt his legs was weakened. He saw a boat next to the sign.¬ He crawled onto the boat and was carried away by the boat¬ down the fast river. After a long time he finally arrived at an¬ island. He slowly hiked up the hill and fell fainted in front of a¬ temple called Subodhi’s temple. When he woke up, Subodhi the¬ Sage was standing in front of him. “I have fed you with¬ anti-venom so your life is spared. To return this favour you¬ have to save all my students who have been kidnapped by the¬ Demon of Chaos”. “After I save your students I have to continue¬ to find the secret of immortality and bring it back to Sky Curtain¬ Cave. “ The Monkey King said. “No problem. You are now my¬ student. From now on your name is Sun Wu Kong. I shall teach¬ you magical power and you shall use it to save my students,“¬ Subodhi replied, “If you need further help, you can look for the¬ Dragon King in his Dragon Palace.”¬ ¬¬ After weeks, Sun Wu Kong was charged with magical power. He¬ said a spell and a flying cloud appeared in front of him. He¬ stood straight on the flying cloud and off he set to fight the¬ Demon of Chaos. The Demon of Chaos was strong and it moved¬ swiftly like a swirl of wind. Sun Wu Kong was agile but the¬ Demon of Chaos was faster than him. Sun Wu Kung pushed a¬ magical shock wave with his palm but the Demon of Chaos¬ speedily whooshed up to the sky and the shock wave only hit¬ and shattered the rock wall. Sun Wu Kung thought he needed a¬ weapon. He ran away, dived into the sea and found the Dragon¬ Place.¬

64

¬¬ The Dragon King was expecting Sun Wu Kong. He let him tried¬ all his weapons but they were all too light for Sun Wu Kong.¬ Finally he took a pillar from the Dragon Palace. “You must not¬ take this pillar! “ The Dragon King wanted to stop him but too¬ late. The pillar then turned into a giant iron bar. If Sun Wu Kong¬ shook it with magic it could turn larger or smaller. Sun Wu Kong¬ whooshed away on his magic cloud. He heard a loud crash as he¬ was riding away. When he looked back he found the Dragon¬ Palace had collapsed.¬¬ ¬¬ Sun Wu Kong returned to the Demon of chaos and fought with¬ him. He cast the iron bar out. The iron bar span and span with¬ growing force and speed. As it gained speed it turned into a¬ large wind swirl like tornado and swallowed the Demon of¬ Chaos. The iron bar span and returned to Sun Wu Kong like a¬ boomerang. The Demon was killed. Sun Wu Kong went on to¬ save Subodhi’s students and set them all free. “I should move¬ on to find the secret of immortality “ Sun Wu Kong greeted¬ Subodhi farewell.¬ ¬¬ One night, two guards with mysterious power from the Land of¬ Darkness kidnapped him and took him to the Land of Darkness.¬ Sun Wu Kong woke up and heard the guards talking. “This¬ Monkey deserved his death as he made the Dragon Palace¬ collapse though the Dragon King was kind to him,” one guard¬ said. “The Judge of Death is the God of Justice. He puts the¬ names of the death on his death directory,” another guard said.¬ ¬¬ Then Sun Wu Kong stood up. He took his iron bar and defeated¬ the two guards. “Take me to the Land of Darkness!” He twisted¬ the arms of the guards and said. He then arrived at the Land of¬ Darkness and met the Judge of Death. “May I borrow the¬ directory? I would like to know when I shall die.” Thinking of¬ granting Sun Wu Kong his last wish before his death, the Judge¬ of Death gave him the directory. Sun Wu Kong suddenly called¬ out his flying cloud and tore off a piece of the cloud to erase his¬

65

name and all the monkeys’ names from the directory. He then¬ flew off and threw the directory back to the Judge of Death.¬ ¬¬ The Judge of Death reported Sun Wu Kong’s misbehaviour to the¬ Jade emperor. The Jade emperor sent all his army to capture¬ him but Sun Wu Kong defeated them all. Suddenly the Jade¬ emperor had an idea. “If I give him a job in the heaven, he will¬ be contented with the heavenly environment and stop causing¬ troubles everywhere.” The Jade emperor thought to himself.¬ ¬ He then sent his captain to get him. The captain asked Sun Wu¬ Kong,”Do you want to have a job in heaven?” Sun Wu Kong¬ replied, “Why not! My monkeys are now erased from the¬ directory of death and they have gained immortality. I have¬ nothing else to do.” The captain and Sun Wu Kong went to¬ heaven. Everything in the heaven was nice and peaceful but¬ Sun Wu Kong was soon bored. He ate all the magic peaches of¬ the Mother King Empress. And he fought with the soldiers in¬ heaven. Although he thought he was peerless, Buddha defeated¬ him at last. To punish Sun Wu Kong, Buddha trapped him under¬ the Five Finger Mountain for five hundred years. When Sun Wu¬ Kong was due to release, the Buddha assigned Sun Wu Kong the¬ task of journey to the West in search of Buddha’s holy book.¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

66

Dimension Hop¬ Stanley Joo 5L¬¬ ¬¬ “Arrgh! Help me!”Sun Wukong begged.¬ ¬ “No! Your actions have been too dangerous,” the Buddha said.¬ “Now!”¬ ¬ And he was sealed off..¬ ¬¬ Escape from the mountain¬ ¬¬ Four hundred years after Buddha crushed Sun Wukong under the¬ Five Finger Mountain, Sun Wukong found no hope. He sensed a¬ hope of escaping the mountain when a monk travelling to India¬ named Xuanzang came near him. However, Xuanzang went past¬ him and did not free him. “I am going to be stuck in the¬ mountain forever!” Sun Wukong thought. But all of sudden,¬ Buddha freed him. He thought the punishment was too extreme.¬ ¬¬ Dimension Hop¬ ¬¬ But when he was on his way back to his home the Fruit and¬ Flower Mountain, Sun Wukong teleported to another dimension.¬ Some demons had opened a portal there. He fell down in a¬ strange world. When he arrived there, he saw only chaos,¬ violence and destruction. Then he heard a sound, a demonic¬ sound. Suddenly, a figure, a dark figure, a figure of pure evil¬ appeared.¬ ¬¬ Chaotic dimension¬ ¬¬ When he explored the place, he saw the Demon King for the¬ first time. The Demon was very powerful. They fought for a very¬ long time. The force was so vigorous that multiple universes¬

67

were shaken. In the end, the Demon lost. Eventually he got on¬ his cloud and flew back through the portal to the Fruit and¬ Flower Mountain.¬ ¬¬ The Return¬ ¬¬ After he returned to the dimension that he was from, the¬ monkeys celebrated his return, by having a big feast. For the¬ party, they harvested all fruits, nuts and wine that had been¬ grown during the four hundred and two years of his absence. All¬ the monkeys enjoyed the party. “Yay! Hip Hip HOORAY!” the¬ monkeys shouted cheerfully. They lived happily ever after.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

68

The Great Escape!¬ Seo Yun Jeong 5L¬ ¬¬ “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!”¬ shouted the naughty monkey. The monkey was captured by the¬ strongest demon he had ever seen. Usually, the capable¬ monkey could have defeated him with his incredible powers but¬ this time the demon was too strong.¬ ¬¬ The murdering demon caught Sun Wukong while he was asleep.¬ After the tactless monkey fell asleep, they put him in a cage¬ where he could not use any of his powers. After a few minutes,¬ the monkey was awakened. He tried to use all his powers but¬ none of them worked.¬ ¬¬ ‘Maybe one of the powerful gods that is more powerful than me,¬ are controlling them!’ the captured monkey thought. Then¬ suddenly the powerful demons threw him into a dark¬ room.“Bring me out, you mean demons!” Sun Wukong shouted.¬ ¬¬ A few minutes later, the monkey king had a great idea. He¬ shapeshifted into an ant. As an ant, he was small enough to¬ crawl under the dungeon door.‘Finally, I got out!’ the¬ shape-shifted monkey thought. But when the fearless monkey¬ looked up, the guard was staring back at him.¬ ¬¬ The guard said, “Hmmm… What a strange ant! Wait, is that Sun¬ Wukong? … aaahhh... It is Sun Wukong! I ……… have…. To ….¬ Step …. on … him!” The monkey shapeshifted into a spider and¬ scared the guard away. While he was running away, the guard¬ screamed hysterically.¬ ¬¬ At the entrance there were guards that were real demons. Sun¬ Wukong was never frightened before in his life but he was¬ frightened this time. Sun Wukong was so shocked that he¬

69

shapeshifted back to a monkey and accidentally screamed¬ aloud. When the guards heard the voice, they started to turn¬ around one by one.¬ ¬¬ The monkey, now feeling embarrassed, shapeshifted into a¬ dragon, burned the guards down and flew to the air. Soon, the¬ monkey was soaring through the air as a dragon. He was¬ delighted seeing the beautiful sky and the incredible ground.¬ ¬¬ Suddenly a group of eagles were flying really fast near to them¬ and squeaking really loud. The monkey flew down to the land¬ and began to search to for his companions, Xuanzang, Piggy and¬ Sandy.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

70

Energy Powered¬ Demon!!!¬ Conor Robinson 5L¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time, there was a monkey named Sun Wukong and¬ he was the King of the Fruit and Flowers Mountain. He lived¬ with lots of other monkeys and apes in the cave Sun Wukong¬ found behind the Fruit and Flower mountain waterfall. All of¬ the monkeys and apes liked their life living in the cave obeying¬ Sun Wukong’s orders.¬ ¬¬ One day, there was a huge magical storm outside and all the¬ monkeys stayed inside the cave. One monkey said, “Oh I am¬ scared!”¬ ¬¬ “Don’t worry I am here to protect you,” Sun Wukong replied.¬ Sun Wukong looked outside and surprisingly, a demon was¬ outside running. Sun Wukong ran outside because he wanted to¬ defeat the demon. He went and fought the demon. When it was¬ badly hurt, the demon got struck by one of the magical lightning¬ and it started to grow… and grow … and grow until it was the¬ size of a tall tree. Then the demon fought back! But there was¬ one problem, the demon was super strong! “Oh no!!!” Sun¬ Wukong said.¬¬ ¬¬ The demon shouted, “ Mwuahahahaha!!!” The demon looked¬ like the Buddha but the shorter and uglier version; it moved like¬ lightning but was faster. Sun Wukong was no match against this¬ beast and got knocked out by the demon. When he woke up, he¬ was in a room in a cage! He thought of what to do, and in a few¬ hours time he knew what to. He would wait till the demon¬ sleeps and then he will turn into a bee or fly and he will fly into¬ the demon’s bedroom. After that he would turn himself into a¬

71

cage and put the demon inside the cage. Sun Wukong will fly to¬ the Five Elements mountain and crush the demon underneath¬ the mountain. And that is what he did.¬ ¬¬ But there was another problem. The whole Earth had violent¬ shaking because the demon was trying to escape. When that¬ happened, Sun Wukong asked the Buddha to pour super hot¬ plasma into the mountain and hoped that it will turn the demon¬ back to its old form. But unfortunately it did not work and the¬ demon actually got stronger! But the Buddha still had a plan.¬ He called for all the Buddha’s, gods, goddesses and soldiers¬ from all over the world to fight the demon. They battled for a¬ long time but eventually the gods won. They won because the¬ demon was outnumbered by the super powerful gods and¬ goddesses. The world was saved from the monstrous demon all¬ because of Sun Wukong. He spotted and battled the demon and¬ thought of lots of ways to defeat the demon. After that, they¬ all lived happily ever after.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

72

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Aiden Kim 4D¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time, in a faraway place called Akashi, there was a¬ big, old mountain. And on that mountain, there was a rock. But¬ it was not an ordinary rock. It was electrified!¬¬ ¬ One day, the rock broke and a baby came out. A week later, Mr.¬ Skywalker went to the mountain to find some wood and found¬ the baby. He decided to bring the baby home. Mrs. Skywalker¬ wanted to name the boy Nathan but Mr. Skywalker said that¬ Anakin is a better name than Nathan because Anakin meant¬ mountain in Akashic. Sadly Mr. and Mrs. Skywalker died when¬ Anakin was 19 years old.¬¬ ¬ Now, there was a pod-racing contest coming up next month, and¬ Anakin decided to participate. Anakin went to the best¬ mechanic shop in Akashi and asked for spare parts of some pods.¬ The shopkeeper said he could take them. Quickly, Anakin made¬ a pod. But it did not look good. Actually, it looked more like an¬ old-fashioned pod, like the first pods ever made in Akashi. But¬ to Anakin, it did not matter. What he thought mattered was¬ planning. He knew that it was a dangerous job, but he needed¬ to do that to win the race.¬ ¬ Finally, the big race day came. The judges said the racers need¬ to go to the west. They also said that the required destination¬ will be inside a 1000-kilometer radius. The whistle blew, and¬ the race started. Everyone thought that Anakin would die, but,¬ to their surprise, he won and lived happily ever after.¬

73

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Jayne Kim 4D¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time, there was a rock. A big rock, and with the¬ help of Heaven, the moonlight and the shining rays of the sun, it¬ became magically pregnant. One day, the rock split and opened.¬ Out came a monkey. The monkey survived by eating leaves and¬ branches, and he found other monkeys. The monkey and the¬ other monkeys were bored one day, so they decided to make a¬ monkey their king.¬¬ ¬ To prove they could be a king the monkey had to jump through¬ an enormous waterfall. The monkeys were all too scared to do¬ it, but one monkey volunteered. It was the monkey that was¬ born from a rock. His name was Stone Monkey, and he jumped¬ through the waterfall.¬¬ ¬ He found a cave behind the waterfall. It was named ‘The Cave¬ of Water Curtains’.¬¬ ¬ “Look!” Stone Monkey exclaimed happily, “I found a cave!”¬ ¬ The other monkeys and Stone Monkey lived in the Cave of Water¬ Curtains joyfully until one day Stone Monkey became afraid of¬ his mortality.¬¬ ¬ Stone Monkey went on a quest to become immortal, and he¬ found an old man. The old man was singing a song about¬ Immortals, and Stone Monkey thought he was an Immortal.¬ Stone Monkey asked him if he was an Immortal, and he said no.¬¬ ¬

74

“But how were you singing that song about immortals? Who¬ taught you?” Stone Monkey asked. The old man said that nearby,¬ there was an Immortal. The immortal had taught him that song.¬¬ ¬ Stone Monkey used his magic powers and quickly found the¬ immortal and he learnt seventy-two magic tricks. He learnt to¬ walk on clouds, jump very far, and when he pulled out one hair¬ from his body, and chewed it and blew on it the hair¬ transformed into lots of tiny little monkeys.¬¬ ¬ Stone Monkey was also named Sun, The Seeker of Secrets. The¬ Seeker of Secrets went back to his lovely home, the Cave of¬ Water Curtains. The Seeker of Secrets came back with joyful¬ news. The monkeys all had a surname - Sun. All the monkeys¬ were grateful for this family name, so they celebrated for a long¬ time. They went back to living happily until one day The Jade¬ Emperor wanted the Seeker of Secrets to guard the heavenly¬ stables at Heaven.¬ ¬ Stone Monkey did not think this was a good enough job for him.¬ Using his magic powers, he found his way to the Royal Peach¬ Garden and ate all the peaches that bloomed once every 3000¬ years. These peaches made the eater immortal.¬¬ ¬ It was bad timing, because The Queen of Heaven wanted to¬ have a Royal Peach Banquet, and when she found out that all¬ her Royal peaches had been eaten, she was not pleased.¬¬ ¬ Meanwhile, a monk named Xuanzang was selected to go to India¬ to get the holy books. Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy, granted¬ Xuanzang some followers. The first follower was Zhu Bajie, an¬ intelligent young pig. The second follower was Sandy, a strong¬ young man. And the last follower was the Seeker of Secrets,¬ who was in deep, deep trouble with the Jade Emperor.¬¬ ¬

75

“Jade Emperor,” asked Guanyin. “Can the Seeker of Secrets go¬ to India to get the holy books?”¬¬ ¬ “Okay,” said the Jade Emperor. ‘No more destruction on¬ Heaven!’ he thought.¬ ¬ Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie, Sandy and the Seeker of Secrets traveled¬ to India by foot. (Mind you, there were no airplanes back then.)¬ They met evil monsters, and usually Xuanzang was captured,¬ Sandy did nothing and Zhu Bajie was the fat, adorable pig. The¬ Seeker of Secrets saved Xuanzang a lot, and with their¬ teamwork they finally got the holy books, and they were turned¬ into gods on the way back home.¬¬ ¬ The Seeker of Secrets was really happy about that, since he¬ turned immortal.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

76

New journey to the west¬ Kim Yee 4D¬ ¬ A long, long, long time ago lived the King of Heaven. The king’s¬ most feared thing was monkeys!¬¬ ¬ One sunny day the king was walking outside his castle, he¬ noticed a big rock on a little hill, a very low hill. The king asked¬ his fellow guards to remove it and grow some flowers instead.¬ The upset guards walked towards the rock and tried to use their¬ swords to push and break the rock but they could not get the¬ rock out or even break it. Their swords were much more¬ powerful than anything, when it was sundown the terrible,¬ angry, tired, grumpy sleepy guards were still trying to break the¬ rock.¬¬ ¬ Suddenly the rock exploded and the guards were injured badly.¬¬ ¬ From the inside of the castle the king could hear a big BOOM,¬ BAM, BAM! The king shouted from his window saying, “SHUT UP¬ you fools”.¬¬ ¬ “Awwww, the pain, you shall stop shouting,” said a guard.¬ ¬ “You shut up first,” said the king.¬ ¬ “ Fine,” said the guards.¬ ¬ “FIne”, said the king.¬ ¬ Then the king went back to sleep. Then, inside the rock was a¬ MONKEY! The guards screamed and ran away deep into the¬ forest.¬

77

¬ Later in the night, the King woke up to check the guards…. HE¬ SCREAMED,¬ “THERE'S A MONKEY OUTSIDE, AHHHHH! I hate monkeys!” he¬ yelled.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

78

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Clara Han 4B¬ ¬ Once upon a time there was a huge banana sitting on a¬ mountain. The mountain was called Banana Mountain where¬ there lived lots of other monkeys. For hundreds of years the¬ monkeys thought of opening the huge banana but they were too¬ scared . Then one day the banana split open. A monkey¬ suddenly came out. Since the monkey was born from a banana¬ all the Monkeys called him Monknana. He wore tae kwon do¬ clothes and had a blue and sparkly band with stars around his¬ head. He had the power to fly and defeat animals that were¬ bigger than him. On Banana mountain, there was a king called¬ Ku Fu. He wore rich clothing and everyone worshiped him. He¬ was the king because he was the one who sailed the ocean and¬ discovered banana mountain. As time went on, Monknana got¬ more powerful. Then one day Ku Fu said, "I am too old to rule¬ Banana Mountain, so we will have a vote for a new king or¬ queen." Of course everyone all voted for Monknana since he was¬ powerful and had magical powers. When Monknana was king he¬ made a palace made out of bananas, fruits and trees. Monknana¬ found a special waterfall which nobody knew where it will lead¬ to. Everyone wanted to find out.¬

One sunny day Monknana decided he wanted to go on an¬ adventure through the waterfall. He wore lots of safety pads to¬ protect himself. Just as he was about to leave Ku Fu said, "To¬ prove you have went through the waterfall bring something¬ special." So Monknana went back to his house that was made by¬ wood and decorated it in bananas. He packed some bananas,¬ berries, water, weapons he made and some spare clothes he¬ had. He saved a spot for the putting special things he would find¬ on the adventure. All the other monkeys hoped Monknana would¬

79

be safe. But as Monknana jumped into the waterfall everybody¬ had the same question in mind: where will the waterfall lead to?¬

Monknana went through the waterfall and came face to face¬ with a fearsome dragon. The monkey bravely asked, "Why are¬ you guarding this cave?"¬¬

Then the dragon answered in a scary voice. "I am guarding the¬ priceless treasure."¬¬

That made Monknana remember what Ku Fu said before. So he¬ said, "Let's have a fight!" Monknana special power was shooting¬ lots of other monkeys into the air.¬

¬

Just as Monknana was about to start fighting, the dragon¬ stopped him and shouted, "Stop! I don't want to fight. I will give¬ you the treasure if you save the princess who is captured by a¬ Monster called Bloodgrill. She is locked up in a dungeon on the¬ west side of the waterfall." And with that Monknana thanked the¬ dragon and set off to the west side. After a long walk, a rabbit¬ passed by. It was riding a beautiful handsome white horse. It¬ had healthy long legs and a beautiful, silky and long mane.¬ When the rabbit saw Monknana, he stopped and greeted him¬ cheerfully. His name was Whitey and they became friends very¬ fast so Whitey decided to help monkey on his journey. Whitey¬ had a very similar life. He was born in a huge carrot and he was¬ the king. Together they made a good team and Whitey had¬ power to see very far. Monknana was just happy he had a new¬ friend and now he wasn't alone. And together they set off.¬

As they walked through deserts and forests,they met one more¬ friend. He was a fox and his name was Reddy. Reddy was a very¬ smart and brave friend. So he said he would help Monknana and¬ Whitey. As time went by they got closer to the west. Then one¬ day they met Bloodgrill. The three friends didn't want to get¬ beaten by Bloodgrill so they pretended they were evil and¬ friends with Bloodgrill. Then one day Monknana made a plan. So¬

80

the following night Monknana and the two other friends¬ pretended to be fast asleep so Bloodgrill would also sleep. Then¬ when Bloodgrill was completely asleep,they stabbed him on the¬ back with a sword Whitey had. Bloodgrill never woke up again.¬ At sunset the three friends set off to continue the journey. By¬ the afternoon they arrived at the dungeon. It was made by brick¬ and stone. With all of the friend's power they made the most¬ biggest and strongest monkey-robot ever. With a big crash the¬ dungeon broke into pieces. The princess ran to the friends and¬ gave them air kisses. "My name is princess Claire. I have been in¬ this place for one and a half years." The princess said to them.¬ Then they all started their journey back to the and dragon's¬ cave.¬

Monknana, Whitey, Reddy and Princess Claire's journey back to¬ the dragon's cave that was much more safe. They didn't meet¬ anymore monsters. Sometimes Princess Claire was very¬ annoying. She kept on saying, "Omg! I totally chipped a nail!" or¬ "Eek! I stepped on cow poo!"¬¬

After about eight hours, they returned to the dragon's cave. He¬ said "Thank you for bringing my true love. Now please watch¬ something special. Then I will hand over the priceless treasure."¬ With that the princess and dragon kissed together on the lips.¬ Then a bright light shined out of the dragons body. Then he¬ turned into a handsome young prince. The princess and prince¬ hugged each other. The prince explained that he was cursed by¬ a witch. But then the princess felt something weird on the back¬ of the prince. It was his wings! But no matter what, the princess¬ did not care. She only cared about his heart. The prince said it¬ was fine because he would be a unique king.¬¬

¬

After the marriage, the prince gave Monknana a long sparkly¬ stick. It could grant anyone's wish. "Bring me back to Banana¬ Mountain," Monknana commanded. The stick turned into a flying¬ carpet and took the three friends. Whitey and Reddy had¬

81

decided to live with Monknana. When they reached Banana¬ Mountain, everybody was very happy. And they all lived happily¬ ever after.¬

¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

82

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Ian Schade 4B¬ ¬ ¬¬ Long, long, long time ago, there was a special mine. Inside¬ there was a special metal. One day in the future a miner mined¬ the metal. Out came a baby metal cheetah! The miner ran¬ away.¬ ¬¬ The cheetah met a group of other cheetah's kids. They went¬ exploring the mine. When the parent cheetahs came back, they¬ didn't know where the kids were. Meanwhile, the metal cheetah¬ found a throne with a crown studded with jewels sitting on it.¬ So, he became king.¬ ¬¬ A few years later, when the king was fully grown, he went to a¬ place called the Palace of Peace. There, there was a monkey¬ who ruled the palace. He was very kind and magical. The¬ monkey taught the metal cheetah all kinds of magic. The metal¬ cheetah even earned a name: Quicksilver. But while he was¬ gone, some hunters killed the other cheetahs. When Quicksilver¬ came back, he was upset and mad. An old man walked by.¬ Quicksilver killed him. He was very, very furious. He swore to¬ destroy whoever killed them. But he didn't know what to do. So,¬ later, he went to the city where the people lived to get¬ weapons. " I'm not afraid," he thought. But he didn't notice the¬ dangers in store for him.¬ ¬¬ In the city, he went to a mining company. There was the exact¬ same miner who had mined the metal egg! Quicksilver pounced¬ on him. The miner sobbed, "Time to die...goodbye world!" But¬

83

Quicksilver didn't kill him. Instead, Quicksilver licked Billy's (the¬ miner) face. "Huh?" said Billy. Using magic, Quicksilver allowed¬ Billy to understand him and explained him the whole story.¬ After that, they got some weapons and armour.¬ ¬¬ A few days later Billy gave a speech on TV that we shouldn't kill¬ animals because they are kind.¬ ¬¬ Then, a few days later, in the early morning, poachers tried to¬ capture Quicksilver. But Quicksilver was too quick (that's why¬ he's called Quicksilver). He ran out of the city and Billy was lost¬ without him.¬ ¬¬ An hour later, Billy decided to travel to his luckiest compass¬ point, west. It always made him lucky. So, a few minutes later¬ he set of to the direction west. But the problem was,¬ Quicksilver was heading north. Now they'd never find each¬ other!¬ ¬¬ Then, he remembered he had learned magic. So, he used the¬ magic to create a special map inside his mind so he could detect¬ the position of Billy. After he saw that Billy was heading west,¬ he ran super-turbo speed to catch up with Billy.¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ Meanwhile, Billy had found a large building shaped like a giant¬ robot that sells special robot companions. "I could have a robot¬ friend..." thought Billy, "to help me find Quicksilver. If I don't¬ find him, at least I'll still have a friend."¬ ¬¬ So, he went inside. Soon he found the perfect android. He¬ bought it and named it Eleninja, and his nickname was Janel or¬ The Element Bender. His ability was to be able to bend the¬ elements of the world.¬ ¬¬

84

When he went out of the building, he saw Quicksilver running¬ towards him at super-turbo speed. Billy was so happy! Soon,¬ they each told to each other what had happened to themselves.¬ Then Quicksilver asked, "What is that?" pointing at Janel.¬¬ ¬ "Oh, that? That's Janel. He's an element bender," Billy replied.¬¬ ¬ "Wow, that's very rare. Where did you get him from?"¬ ¬ "From that giant building over there."¬¬ ¬ "Cool..."¬¬ ¬ But a second later, Quicksilver sensed something using magic. It¬ was the hunters who had killed Quicksilver's friends! "I will¬ destroy you!!!!" he yelled. A few seconds later all the hunters¬ were dead. "I promised I would destroy you..." Quicksilver¬ muttered under his breath.¬ ¬ A few minutes later, Quicksilver told Billy and Janel that he¬ wanted to have a normal cheetah's life because there are only¬ animals and no people. "Of course I like you but I want live in¬ peace in the nature."¬¬ ¬ "Then we'll find you a place to live," Billy and Janel replied.¬ ¬¬ So soon they started walking west. "This is going to be a long¬ journey to the west..." mumbled Janel "Why did I agree to¬ come!?" Soon they were in a desert, cloud forest, another city,¬ where the army tried to capture Janel because bringing robots¬ to that city was illegal! But, finally they came across a peaceful¬ and quiet forest that Quicksilver would love to live in. But,¬ suddenly, the ground started shaking like crazy! It was an¬ earthquake! ...Or was it?¬ ¬¬

85

"Run! Ahh!" A monster rose from the inside of the forest! It¬ looked like...a ferocious dragon!! His body was a ghost's body¬ and it was blue, his head was black, his eyes were green, there¬ was a little flame on his head that couldn't hurt him and his tail¬ had a blade on the tip.¬¬ ¬ "STOP RUNNING!" bellowed the dragon.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

86

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Ka Yan Tam 4B¬ ¬ Once upon a time, there was a sparkling and bright land called¬ the Earth. One day, a person in China was cutting open an¬ apple. Inside the apple, a little monkey popped out from a seed¬ which was as big as the apple. Once he stepped on the floor, he¬ transformed. Now, he was as big as the house. His hands and¬ legs were trapped in the window. He shrank again and became¬ normal in size now. The person that cut the apple named the¬ Monkey “Sun Wukong”.¬ ¬¬ Sun Wukong went to play with the other monkeys. Some of the¬ monkeys were tall, short, slim, fat, happy, bored, grumpy and¬ sad. He was the strongest and most powerful monkey in the¬ world. He had a stick which could grow and shrink. He wore¬ underpants which had apples on. Sun Wukong had magic. He¬ taught all the other monkeys kung fu. One day, he found out¬ that he had flying power. He carried all of the monkeys in one¬ time. When Sun Wukong landed, a monkey named “Rose” said,¬ “Whoever can carry that rock will be our king!” A few monkeys¬ tried but they failed. Sun Wukong tried last.¬ ¬¬ Sun Wukong did it! “What do you need your Majesty?” asked the¬ oldest monkey. Sun Wukong went into a cave and sat down on a¬ rock. “I will go on a journey and help fighting the monsters in¬ the world!” Sun Wukong thought. A year later, he went on an¬ airplane. He was now in Los Angeles. Sun Wukong walked to his¬ hotel room and put down his bags and filled his water bottle.¬ After a while, he took his water bottle and went out of the¬ hotel room (he brought his backpack and a few bunches of¬ bananas and apples, of course). He went to a booth and¬

87

exchanged the money from Renminbi to dollars and put them¬ into his backpack.¬¬ ¬¬ At 3 o’clock, Sun Wukong went back to the hotel room. He had¬ an afternoon nap. A person who lived next door went into Sun¬ Wukong’s room and put his Iphone on the table next to the bed.¬ Sun Wukong fell asleep right away. For no reason he said “goo¬ goo” in his sleep talking. The Iphone thought it was “Google” so¬ the Iphone went into Google. Then, in Sun Wukong’s sleep talk,¬ he said “Suck up”. The Iphone thought Sun Wukong would like¬ to be sucked into the Google world. Thus, it sucked him in¬ through the first “O” in the word “Google”.¬¬ ¬ Sun Wukong was trapped inside the Iphone! Oh no! Just when¬ he woke up, he needed the bathroom. He looked at himself in¬ the mirror and found out he had turned into an Emoji! Sun¬ Wukong tested if he lost his powers. He tried and it still¬ worked! He sighed and asked “Where am I?”¬¬ ¬ After Sun Wukong finished talking, a voice said loudly “You’re in¬ Google World.”¬¬ ¬ “Help! Get me out of here!”¬¬ ¬ “Hi! I am a princess!” the girl said.¬¬ ¬ “What is a pinecess?” asked Sun Wukong.!¬¬ ¬ "Not a pinecess silly, it’s a princess. P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S!”¬ exclaimed the girl.¬¬ ¬ “My name is Sun Wukong,” said Sun Wukong.¬¬ ¬ “I’m Chloe,” said the girl.¬¬ ¬ “I am freezing?” cried Sun Wukong. “¬

88

“Wait, I’ll give you a blanket and a pillow!” said Chloe’s mum.¬ Sun Wukong thanked Chloe for the blanket and pillow while he¬ put them in his backpack. He said goodbye again and set off.¬ He sat in McDonalds and looked in the map again and found out¬ the way to go to the place where the 4-headed monster lived.¬ He went outside and got on a taxi and told the taxi driver where¬ he wanted to go.¬¬ ¬¬ After half an hour, Sun Wukong was finally in the 4-headed¬ monster’s home, the Desert of 4-heads. Sun Wukong got out of¬ the taxi. He found a cave where there was a treasure box.¬ Inside the treasure box, there was a shimmering ring. Sun¬ Wukong liked the ring so he put it on. In a second, the desert¬ became a very beautiful place. Just then, Sun Wukong and the¬ 4-headed monster walked towards each other, face-to-face.¬ Sun Wukong just had one look of the 4-headed monster because¬ he turned into a monkey, just like himself. “Who are you?”¬ asked Sun Wukong.¬¬ ¬ “I’m Alfie. Who are you?” asked the monkey.¬¬ ¬ “I’m Sun Wukong!” replied Sun Wukong. “Are you the 4-headed¬ monster?” asked Sun Wukong.¬¬ ¬ “I was cursed by Google witch who died 1 year before you¬ came!” replied Alfie.¬¬ ¬ “Oh! Can you come with me?” asked Sun Wukong.¬¬ ¬ “What do you mean?” asked Alfie.¬¬ ¬ “Maybe we can help each other?” said Sun Wukong.¬¬ ¬ “Okay!” exclaimed Alfie.¬¬ ¬¬ When Alife and Sun Woo King left the dessert they came across¬ a forest. The forest had monkeys inside. The monkeys gave were¬

89

friendly and gave Alfie and Sun Wukong what they deserved, a¬ present. “Make some wishes in this door knob hole, but you can¬ only make 3 wishes,” said the monkeys.¬¬ ¬ “Alfie,” Sun Wukong started. “I don’t think you can go out of¬ the Google world,” Sun Wukong said with a sigh. “The first wish¬ is an airplane which I can go anywhere by saying where I want to¬ go; the second wish is going to the West of the world and at¬ last, the third wish is that all of the monkeys can go back to the¬ real world “Earth” with me!” mumbled Sun Wukong. In a puff¬ of smoke, all of the monkeys (include Sun Wukong and Alfie)¬ was back to the real planet Earth. “It is 3 o’clock now!” said¬ Sun Wukong. He was surprised that no time has passed while he¬ was in the “Google World”. Sun Wukong was glad back to the¬ Earth. Sun Wukong bought a house and all the monkeys lived¬ together with him.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

90

The Journey to the West¬ Matthew Kim 4B¬ ¬ Once upon a time a rock was sitting in the middle of Banana¬ Peel Mountain. A large hand shot out of the sky and the hand¬ wrote two words in Chinese. The first word wrote ‘land’ in the¬ cliff and the second word wrote ‘people’ on the rock. All of a¬ sudden the rock began to shake and crumble. Suddenly a¬ monkey appeared, the monkeys name was Sun Woo Kung.¬ ¬ Sun Woo Kung travelled by cloud because Monk called Wu Chan¬ Sung teaches magic then he spotted 13 monkeys trapped in a¬ cave guarded by monsters. So he punched the monsters faces so¬ they fainted and rescued the monkeys so they crowned him¬ king. Then he wanted a army so he travelled all over Banana¬ Peel Mountain he was about to give up when he spotted some¬ monkeys so he went down and asked, “Could you be my army?”¬ so they said “ok” and they trained for 1 second and sun woo¬ kung said “ you are ready “ then sun woo kung said” let’s go to¬ the west because legend says if you go to the west you will live¬ forever. So let’s leave tomorrow ok” next day he brang 3 of¬ the world’s best warriors and sun woo kung said to the monkeys¬ “these three warriors are going to join us” and everyone¬ cheered then got the weapons to fight and Sun Woo Kungs¬ weapon and it could shrink and rise whenever sun woo kung¬ demands it to. And the weapons name was the golden staff and¬ it is 100000000000000000000000000000000000000 tons.¬¬ ¬ ¬ The army travelled to a sea called ATLANTICA . But the problem¬ was a god called ARCHEN was in the way . And she was the evil¬ queen of fire so if you breath or touch the water you will be¬ burnt to death. But sun woo kung brought gas masks and he¬ used his magic to make copies of pegasuses so they fly over¬ archen then about 30 mins later the monkeys pegasuses faded¬ away so the monkeys died only the four people left then¬

91

they saw a island called Hong Kong they stopped to rest. Then¬ they found a melon and they went creative and they used it as a¬ soccer ball. After that they were ready to continue their¬ journey . There last and next was a country called India . And¬ they had to go across the Indian ocean . And this time there was¬ a god called Hero brine . Hero brine was the god of frost and ice¬ . when they got there the entire sea was solid frozen just then¬ Hero brine showed up he said “ greetings! Don’t even think¬ about going across this ocean because if you do you will freeze¬ in two ways. First of all if you walk on the frozen water you will¬ freeze and second of all if you fly above me I will freeze you by¬ throwing ice cubes about 5 cm. so beware and get lost !” Never¬ mind said monkey turning away to hide with his friends. When¬ there were hiding one of the warriors asked “ boss what’s the¬ plan ? “ then sun woo kung said “ the plan is that I am going to¬ give you invisibility power to make you invisible and go fly past¬ Hero brine¬ Then land on a small small island called Lanka . so when Hero¬ brine wasn’t looking sun woo kung put the invisible power on¬ the three warriors. They flew above Hero brine but Hero brine¬ had good hearing so he heard them flapping there magical long¬ wings that shine and glow like crazy . so Hero brine threw ice¬ ball everywhere it almost hit one of a warrior's wings about one¬ inch apart.so they eventually arrived on Lanka as they¬ predicted like always because sun woo kung also had the power¬ to see the future and see what is going around the whole world¬ and also the whole universe and there was nothing that he can't¬ do. So they got some fruit to eat and they got 4 fruits but 1 of¬ the fruits were poisoned so one warrior bled to death .now only¬ 3 more people left for the fearful and dangerous mission . so¬ there destination went closer every day only one more¬ dangerous place to go then they arrive on there . there last¬ dangerous task was to get past the Medusian sea it was called¬ the Medusian sea because if you see the solid rock bridge across¬ the ocean you will turn into rock so sun woo kung blindfolded¬ the two warriors and also himself . Then they held the line of¬ the bridge and walked as fast as they could to get across the¬

92

bridge and it took 50000 days because they were keep bumping¬ into each other so much and keep resting because of sun woo¬ kung distracting them by saying funny things such as googoo¬ gaga what is the most strong muscle of your body ? gluteus¬ maximus(butt) . and he also laughed on his own like this: poo ha¬ ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.¬ ~¬ Now they landed on India they celebrated their journey by¬ eating and drinking everything they can but before that party¬ they did something very nice they made a R.I.P thing for their¬ friends who died then they bought houses and the biggest house¬ was monkeys! So they rested in there houses for a while than¬ they went to the and hundreds and hundreds of people were¬ invited almost the whole and sun woo kung invited them all!It¬ was so crazy and they never ran out of food ever again . the¬ end~¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

93

The Journey to the East¬ Isla Tong 4B¬ ¬ A long time ago in the sea, there lived a jellyfish. Her name was¬ Jelly. She was blue and wanted to explore the world but she¬ was just a jellyfish, how could she go out of the water?¬ ¬¬ When Jelly turned eight, she found out all about the Jade¬ Emperor which gave her an idea. She was going to make the¬ Jade Emperor come to her by sending him a card. Jelly tried the¬ first time, she wrote:¬ ¬¬ The Jade Emperor,¬ ¬¬ Will you come, I want to explore the world but I am a Jellyfish¬ and cannot of out of the water. So please can you come to the¬ bottom of the East Sea?¬¬ ¬¬ Yours sincerely¬ Jelly¬ ¬¬ The next day at two o’clock, she saw a person in the sea. Jelly¬ shouted, ‘Hey! Are you the Jade Emperor?’¬¬ ¬ However, it was a guard. The guard shouted back, ‘You do not¬ send cards to the Jade Emperor or you will get punished!’¬ ¬¬ When Jelly turned eleven, she found out about the magic man¬ from the old wise fish.¬ ¬¬ ‘I am going to write to the old wise fish,’ Jelly told her friend¬ Blob, the stingray.¬ ¬¬ Hi Magic Fish,¬ ¬¬

94

Maybe that is not your name but could you come down to see¬ me. I want to explore the world but I am just a jellyfish. Will¬ you come here, to the bottom of the East Sea?¬ ¬¬ Yours sincerely,¬ Jelly¬¬ ¬¬ The next day, Jelly got a letter from the Magic Man, it says,¬¬ ¬ To Jelly, I can come to you in one week but until then, I have¬ got to go to the Magic Place and by the way, my name is¬ Sammy.¬ ¬¬ From Sammy¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ Jelly was so happy she was going to explore the world. One¬ week went past and Sammy did not come. Then a letter arrived,¬ it says¬ ¬¬ Hi Jelly,¬ ¬¬ I broke my leg, so I cannot come to you, so so so sorry. I hope¬ you get to explore the world from Sammy.¬ ¬¬ Jelly was heartbroken, she will never get to explore the world.¬ When Jelly birthday came, she was really sad, she did not want¬ to make a wish or open her birthday present, she did not want¬ to do anything. Jelly thought, why do I need to blow out my¬ candles, my wish will not com true anyway.¬ ¬¬ One day, Jelly was swimming around an old box, she stopped¬ and opened the box. Inside there was a magic ring, but she did¬ not know what it was, so she put it on one of her tentacles.¬ When Jelly got home, she saw her friend Blob.¬ ¬¬ ‘Hi Jelly, what’s that on your tentacle?’¬

95

¬¬ ‘I do not know but I found it in a box,’ said Jelly.¬ ¬¬ The next day, Jelly had magical power because of the ring. She¬ found out she can teleport and shape shift into different¬ animals, including human.¬ ¬¬ Blob said, ‘I have an idea for you, you can teleport to the beach¬ and change into a human.’¬ ¬¬ Jelly was ready to go and she said her goodbyes to everybody. ‘I¬ will come back soon.’¬ ¬¬ When Jelly was a human, she couldn’t walk and she felt down¬ three times. The fourth time she was just fine. Jelly was so¬ excited to go and explore the world.¬ ¬¬ On the first day, Jelly went to find Samy. By the time she found¬ Samy, she was exhausted. Jelly said,’’ It is me, Jelly, they one¬ you wrote to, remember me?’¬ ¬¬ Samy said,’ Hi, I do remember you Jelly.’¬ ¬¬ The next day, Jelly and Samy went to the airport and Samy said,¬ ‘ Jelly, where do you want to go? New York? London? India or¬ Singapore?’¬ ¬¬ Jelly was really amazed as she thought there were only two¬ countries. Jelly said,’ Maybe New York, it sounds super fun.’¬ ¬¬ So they got onto the airplane, Jelly was a little scared. Samy¬ told him,’ it’s alright.’¬ ¬¬ When they got to New York, Jelly ate some delicious food. They¬ had lots of fun in their first week in New York. The next city¬ they went to was Paris. Jelly said Paris was amazing. After that,¬ they went to India, then Singapore and finally, to London.¬

96

¬¬ Jelly said, ‘ I would like to go to one more country, which one¬ would you recommend?’¬ ¬¬ Samy replied,’ Maybe Vietnam is good, would you like to visit?’¬ ¬¬ ‘Sure!’ said Jelly.¬ ¬¬ When they got to Vietnam, they went to the beach and Samy¬ said,’ You never told me how did you changed into a human.’¬ ¬¬ Jelly said,’ Well, I had this magic ring, which allows to shape¬ shift.¬ ¬¬ The next day, they went to the beach again, Jelly said,’ Thank¬ you so much for bringing me here but now I must return to the¬ sea. I will visit you again one day.’¬ ¬¬ ‘Bye Bye,’ said Samy.¬ ¬¬ Jelly jumped back into the water and changed back into a jelly¬ fish and swan home. Everybody was happy to see her and she¬ told everybody about her adventure.¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

97

¬ New Journey to the¬ West Introduction¬ Celeste Lee 4B¬ ¬ A long time ago a man wanted to eat an egg. When he cracked¬ the egg he started eating, he ate the white. When he got to the¬ yolk he saw a monkey, he spat it out immediately. The monkey¬ started growing and growing, the man petted monkey as his pet¬ for about a year.¬ ¬ One night monkey wanted to make some friends so monkey¬ sneaked out when everyone was sleeping. He came to a piece of¬ land where there was a lot of other monkeys. They played all¬ night, they thought they needed a ruler to see who to do what¬ and stuff. They agreed and said, “Who climbs the tree fastest¬ who be the ruler.” Egg monkey won the race. So after they¬ stayed there for about a month they decided to move to a¬ bigger place because the number of monkeys were growing.¬ They moved to the forest with all the other monkeys. Some¬ monkeys didn’t want to move to the forest but the majority of¬ monkeys wanted to go.¬¬ ¬ They started moving , they walked and walked until they¬ reached the closest forest near the place they lived before.¬ They settled down and planted some seeds and built houses¬ with twigs, twine and leaves. The monkeys loved their new¬ place to live, they danced around all the time. They would use¬ different things in the forest to make music and different¬ sounds . One day monkey king thought he wasn’t powerful¬ enough so he announced it to the other monkeys and he said,¬ “My faithful monkeys I will be leaving to train for stronger¬ skills.” So monkey left the next week.¬¬

98

¬ All the monkeys went to see monkey king leave on his way to¬ find a master to learn skills . During his way he found out his¬ could fly, he looked for very long. Finally he found his master¬ .He learned taekwondo after a few years of training he went¬ back to his land. His monkeys missed him. When Monkey King¬ came back to the forest, he told all the little monkeys his¬ wonderful adventure during his journey to find his master. How¬ he found out he could fly. One-day monkey was having a walk in¬ the forest and he found a dark and gloomy cave. Monkey King¬ was curious, so he went in the cave to what was in the cave.¬ ¬ He went into the depths of the cave and found a powerful¬ dragon monster. So, he went home, the next morning he told¬ the other monkeys to be careful when they were passing by the¬ cave. One day a little baby monkey was passing by the cave,¬ dancing. The monster thought it was annoying, so he came to¬ the little baby monkey and the dragon frightened the monkey¬ and the little monkey ran away as fast as his feet could bring¬ him back home and told his parents. When Monkey King heard¬ the news, he rushed as fast as he could in his white taekwondo¬ clothing and his black belt. When he arrived dragon was already¬ there, all ready to fight with monkey. Monkey was a little¬ excited to show his taekwondo skills from training. Monkey was¬ awesome when he was fighting with dragon, they were both¬ were very good and so they couldn’t see who won.¬¬ ¬ The next day they fought again, again they were both very¬ good. One-night monkey sneaked out during the night to look for¬ dragon’s weaknesses, but monkey looked and looked but¬ couldn’t find any at all. Every night, after fighting every night¬ monkey would go and try again to find dragon’s weakness,¬ one-night monkey went to dragon’s cave and found he was¬ dreaming and talking and heard him say, “I’m so ticklish, don’t¬ tickle me. Ha Ha Ha!” Dragon laughed and laughed and didn’t¬ stop for the whole night, dragon laughed so loud he woke all the¬ monkeys up from their good night sleep. They all heard he was¬

99

ticklish so the next day when they started fighting all the¬ monkeys hid behind dragon’s back and tickled him and dragon¬ started laughing very loudly but the next day dragon didn’t give¬ up and started fighting with monkey again but still no results of¬ any of them winning the war. They fought day and night and¬ searched for weapons after fighting.¬¬ ¬ One night dragon went out to look for monkey’s weakness,¬ hoping to find one but he had no clue what monkey’s weakness¬ were and how nobody knows except monkey himself. One day¬ monkey was sleeping he woke up because he was getting ready¬ to go to search for dragon weakness. Dragon was also getting¬ ready to look for monkey’s weakness. When they were going to¬ each other’s house to look for weakness they met each other.¬ They were both very mad to not find each other’s weaknesses.¬ They started fighting, they fought and fought they fought for¬ the whole day and they were very tired. The next day they were¬ very tired, so they didn’t fight. One day they were suddenly¬ very hungry, so they decided to have a feast at monkey’s house¬ and after they finished eating monkeys asked why were they¬ were fighting, dragon didn’t remember, and they decided that¬ they would stop fighting because it was no good at all and they¬ wouldn’t be healthy.¬¬ ¬ They went to dragon’s cave and had some Chinese tea with very¬ delicate and beautiful cups. And found out why the fought and¬ thought it was dumb to fight for so long for such a small little¬ thing. That day they had a lot of fun thinking about everything.¬ The next day monkey told the monkeys he became friends with¬ dragon and don’t need to fear dragon when they are by his cave¬ and they can dance and won’t be disturbed and be angry by¬ being noisy and disturbing. They started playing together in the¬ forest and danced and sang around. They started to get bored¬ and went to dragon’s cave to invite him to come and play¬ together for a game of soccer, but they didn’t have enough¬ monkeys to form two teams of twelve and they were missing¬

100

one monkey. They had a lot of fun and they always played¬ together. And they became friends, forever.¬ Martians in Mars¬ Audrey Chan 4B¬ ¬¬ ¬ Long long ago, there was a planet called Mars. It was a warm¬ and happy place where everybody could get along, one day a¬ Green Martian popped out of a huge seed. She lived happily in¬ Mars until one day White Martians invaded Mars many Green¬ Martians and kind creatures died because of them. Some¬ Martians put a gate between the White Martians and the Green¬ Martians. One day the gate was accidently unlatched, the White¬ Martians were much stronger than before the Green Martian¬ from the seed, Clara managed to escape on an aircraft. He¬ traveled through space and accidently went into an evil place¬ called the phantom zone where filled with evil and wicked¬ aliens who have the power of technology brain control and many¬ more. Clara accidently and without noticing fell in the deep¬ dark phantom zone! She slept there for more than a thousand¬ years but one day a wicked alien powered the aircraft and flew¬ around the phantom zone allowing all the terribly powerful¬ villains escape!!! But Clara still asleep had no idea what was¬ going to happen next…¬ ¬¬ BOOM! CRASH! CLANG! Clara immediately woke up and looked¬ around “hmmmmmm,” she thought, “this place looks familiar…¬ … “aha!” “I remember now this place is called Earth and I am¬ currently in a place called Africa. Africa was a hot and sunny¬ place. One day she was just roaming around and he found a¬ little resturaunt feeling hungry she went inside, as soon as she¬ came in all the people inside were immediately silenced they¬ froze staring at Clara he went to a cashier and ask for some food¬ the cashier sneakily handed her the menu she ordered a cheese¬ and pepperoni pizza, a gallon of water, some omelets and some¬

101

potato chips then she turned towards the people and said in¬ Martianeese “thank you for serving me today” said Clara but to¬ the it sounded like “I hate this restaurant I will never¬ come back there for as long as I live you idiotic things!” the¬ humans took out their guns and began aiming bullets at him¬ ,thinking fast he dodged all the bullets someone took out his¬ phone and called somebody. After a few minutes somebody¬ banged on the door with green guns soon they were firing too¬ soon Clara found out that they were shooting bullets near her so¬ she didn’t mind nobody else was shooting him! Soon she felt¬ himself weakening after a few seconds, she fainted.¬ ¬¬ After a few hours she found herself chained to a soft bed, she¬ smirked she easily broke the chained bars and found out she¬ could shrink and grow too! So she shrank and then shape-shifted¬ into a mouse because earlier she had found a tiny mouse hole¬ she carefully crawled through the hole. In the hole filled with¬ tunnels she befriended a mouse called Squeaky they became¬ such good friends that Squeaky took to his hometown Cheesy¬ Island. A few days later she realized that she had nowhere to¬ sleep so Clara asked hopefully, “Can I live with you, I have¬ nowhere else to stay?” “of course!” said Squeaky. One perfectly¬ normal day a wise old mouse announced “whoever can lift up¬ the magic cheese will be our queen or king” each mouse had a¬ turn but nobody was able to lift it but when it was Clara’s turn¬ she easily lifted it up everyone gasped” welcome my queen¬ welcome” said the wise old mouse stuttering “please allow me¬ to escort you to your palace” “well okay” she said she stared at¬ the palace it was made out of cheese! She could not believe it¬ she instantly welcomed Squeaky into the palace.¬ ¬¬ BOOM! CRASH CLANG! “LET US ENTER” bellowed a mysterious¬ rat the guards , afraid instantly let him in they each got a pile¬ of gold and jewels for a reward they ran of squeaking with joy¬ .The other mice shook as if someone had shaved all of its fur off¬ which was a horrible experience for a mouse. But Clara, not¬ afraid at all stepped forward and said calmly but firmly “what¬

102

do you want and who are you?” “I am the magnificent Sir¬ Vampirorat” he announced severely “and I am here to take over¬ your kingdom!” “MWAHAHAHA-*cough ack cough cough*” he¬ bellowed “man I have to remember to take out my cheesy gum¬ before I use my villain laugh” he muttered “anyways” “GIVE ME¬ YOUR KINGDOM OR YOU WILL FACE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE!”¬ screamed Sir Vampirorat rather loudly nobody said a word¬ everyone was petrified, but not Clara she made herself even¬ bigger than the cheese palace and then picked up Sir¬ Vampirorat by the tail and then said in a shallow voice “how¬ dare you threaten my friends!” “I don’t care if I threaten your¬ friends” he said snickering “Well I guess I want to do something¬ fun” pretending that someone had told her something “oh I¬ know what to do for fun” she said “a rat dissection !” she said¬ “isn’t that a great idea !” Sir Vampirorat’s eyes looked like they¬ were going to pop out of his big rat head Clara got a sharp knife¬ and sliced but Sir Vampirorat got so scared he retreated into a¬ deep dark portal and was never seen again.¬ ¬¬ “Thank you for saving us umm Queen Clara” said the wise old¬ mouse so they began living happily again. The Mouse and Clara¬ decided to leave Earth so they found a portal that would take¬ them to heaven. To get to Heaven they each got a job so god¬ would think that they were worthy soon they asked god if god¬ could grant their wish the god agreed. From then on they all¬ lived in peace.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

103

¬ ¬ Y4-6 Poetry¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

104

Sun Wu Kong¬ Charlotte Lee 5L¬ ¬¬ With a boom¬ With a zoom¬ With a zang¬ With a bang¬ With a swoosh¬ And a wosh¬ The ground shook¬ Here comes the Monkey King!¬ He is smart, brave, selfish,and very naughty¬ It is hard to make him get along with others¬ Because he thinks that he’s the best¬ There are only two people that can beat him¬ Guanyin and the Buddha¬ ¬¬ One day, Buddha and the Monkey King made a bet¬ They wanted to know who was most powerful¬ Buddha said,¬ “If you can escape from my hand, you win”¬ “If you don’t, you lose”¬ But however far Monkey King flew, he was still on the Buddha’s¬ hand¬ So Buddha won¬ ¬¬ The monkey king became Xuan Zang’s disciple¬ Then Xuan Zang gave a special headband to him¬ Whenever he is naughty, the special headband will become very¬ tight¬ Now Monkey King will be kind to others¬ ¬ ¬¬

105

The Monkey King¬ Ian Ng 5L¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ The Monkey King¬ ¬¬ Is strong but naughty¬ Is a protector but rude¬ ¬¬ At the start¬ He was like as bad as a demon¬ But after he got a master, Xuan Zang¬ He behaved like a peaceful angel¬ But without Xuan Zang¬ He will not behave¬ ¬ After a while¬ They decided¬ To go to India¬ Crossing the Silk Road¬ The journey to the west¬ ¬¬ On the trip to India¬ They met lots and lots of demons¬ Some of them become good¬ Like Piggy and Sandy¬ Piggy and Sandy helped protect Xuan Zang¬ But the strongest is Monkey¬ ¬ When they arrive at India¬ Monkey become a god¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

106

The Light¬ Alexis Lai 5K¬ ¬¬ There was a spark of light¬ Lots so fright.¬ ¬ And it all happened in a night¬ It was quite the sight¬ ¬ Despite all the fright¬ And all the light that shone so bright¬ ¬ I say it was a delight¬ Watching the light¬ ¬ But others cannot say the same.¬ Some people still wonder what was¬ The monkey’s name¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬

107

Y4-6 ESL¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

108

NEW JOURNEY TO THE¬ WEST¬ Jessica Hur 4B¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time there were 3 girls named Jan Yi, Jessica and¬ Clara; they were travelling to China.¬ ¬ One day they woke up in the morning and there was a monkey¬ king in front of them, and they were very surprised, “Do you¬ want to travel with me?” asked the monkey king. “OK,” said the¬ girls. They walked to the mountain and there was a sand¬ monster! “Are you not tired of being a monster?” asked the¬ monkey king, “Yes, of course,” said the sand monster. The¬ monkey king turned the sand monster to a big strong man. They¬ kept walking and there was a pig monster “Are you not tired of¬ being a monster?” asked the monkey king. “Yes,” said the¬ monster. The monkey king turned him into a person.¬ ¬ There were lots of fruits on the magical peach tree which could¬ make you live forever. The girls just ate it. “Don’t eat it!” said¬ the monkey king, but they had already eaten it. They put the¬ peaches down.¬ ¬ They arrived at their house, but the monkey king had¬ disappeared. “Where is the monkey king?” asked Jan Yi. “It was¬ a dream,” said Clara. “Well, it was fun”, said Jessica “Yeah,”¬ said the girls. “It is already night. We were supposed to play at¬ the playground,” said Jan Yi. “We are in your house,” said the¬ girls, “Bye-bye, Clara and Jessica.” “How could it have¬ happened?” the girls wondered. “Well, it was fun!” they said¬ aloud!¬ ¬

109

NEW JOURNEY TO THE¬ WEST¬ Sophia Min 5L¬ ¬¬ Boom!¬¬ ¬ The rock opened the mouth and there was a monkey inside! All¬ the monkeys saw what had happened. They invited the monkey¬ to party and asked him if it was okay to be their king.¬ ¬ “Why do you want me to be your king?” the monkey asked.¬ ¬ “Because you are stronger, cleverer and naughtier than all of¬ us!” said the other monkeys.¬ ¬ “Okay, I will be,” said the monkey.¬ ¬ Under the king’s rule, the monkey land was peaceful but year¬ after year the monkey king was worried. One monkey asked,¬ “What’s wrong, your majesty?”¬ ¬ “I want to live forever,” said the monkey king. “I don’t want to¬ die!”¬ ¬ “Well, there is an old monk who lived in a temple high up in the¬ mountains, he knows how to live forever.”¬ ¬ “Is that true? I need to go see him right now!” The monkey king¬ said as he jumped up from his seat.¬ ¬ After climbing the tall mountain and crossing many rivers, he¬ finally arrived at the old monk’s temple. “I want to see the old¬ monk!” said the monkey king, “I need to live forever!”¬

110

¬ The big gate slowly opened and the old monk walked out and¬ said, “I have been expecting you. I saw you on my CCTV.”¬ ¬ The monkey king looked puzzled.¬¬ ¬ “You should have just called!”¬¬ ¬ “CCTV? Call? How?” asked the monkey king.¬ ¬ “The medicine you are looking for is not with me. It’s at a¬ location only I know. You cannot even find it on Google.”¬ ¬ “I will do whatever it takes to learn where it is.” said the¬ monkey king.¬ ¬ The old monk promised that if the monkey king became his¬ student for three years, he would teach him where to find the¬ medicine.¬ ¬ “Meet your friends Pigsy and Sandy. There are also learning how¬ to use a cell phone,” said the old monk.¬ ¬ The 3 years, the three students learnt how to make calls, text¬ messages, and take pictures with their phones. “Soon, you will¬ be able to learn how to live forever,” said the old monk.¬ ¬ “Hi, what’s your name?” Pigsy asked.¬ ¬ “I have no name,” said monkey king sadly.¬ ¬ “Your name is Sun Wukong,” said the old monk.¬ ¬ “My name is Sun Wukong!” said Sun Wukong.¬ ¬ “Your first lesson is to sit quietly and use your cell phone to¬ take pictures like this,” said the old monk.¬

111

¬ “But where is my cellphone?” Sun Wukong asked.¬ ¬ “Yours is this brown phone, because your color is brown,” said¬ old monk.¬ ¬ “Okay. Okay. Let me try,” said Sun Wukong.¬ ¬ “Wow! This is awesome!” Sun Wukong laughed.¬ ¬ “The next lesson is to call somebody that you really want to talk¬ to,” said the old monk.¬ ¬ “Hello! My name is Sandy. Who are you?” Sandy asked.¬ ¬ “My name is Sun Wukong; nice to meet you, Sandy,” said Sun¬ Wukong.¬ ¬ “Now, you need to know how to send an email. Type the words¬ that make sense.”¬ ¬ “You could send to your friend or anybody you know!” said the¬ old monk.¬ ¬ “Wow! It’s amazing!” Sun Wukong was so happy that it made¬ him jump up and down!¬ Three years passed and they were ready. Sun Wukong and his¬ friends Pigsy, Sandy and his master's grandson Xuan Zang went¬ to the highest mountain ever.¬ ¬ “I think we need to call Uber taxi.” said Pigsy climbing the¬ mountain. Tada! The taxi arrived.¬ ¬ “To the end of the mountain!” said Xuan Zang.¬ ¬ 30 minutes later, they arrived at the end of the mountain.¬ ¬

112

“1360 dollars,” said taxi driver. They gave him the money and¬ looked around to see where they were.¬ ¬ “I don’t think this is the end of the mountain. I think we are in¬ the middle of nowhere!” said Sandy, “Terrible driver. He tricked¬ us!”¬ ¬ “Ha! Ha! Ha! You guys look so delicious,” said a strange voice.¬ ¬ “Wh... wh… who are you? Show yourself!” Sun Wukong¬ stuttered.¬ Pigsy quietly pressed 999 behind his back.¬ ¬ “Hello? How can I help you?” asked police.¬ ¬ “Help. Something strange is happening here,” said Pigsy.¬ ¬ “Where are you?” asked the police.¬ ¬ “I will send you the picture?” Sandy answered.¬ ¬ Xuan Zang took the picture of what he saw. “Done! I will¬ message to the police now,” said Xuan Zang.¬ ¬ The strange voice thought ‘This is so weird. A monkey, a pig, a¬ monk and a weird looking guy know how to use a cell phone!’¬ ¬ From far away they heard the police siren, which was getting¬ closer. The strange voice jumped out from the bushes.¬ ¬ “I am really hungry! So give me some food or I will eat you!”¬ said the demon.¬ ¬ “I’m not afraid of you! The police will come and capture you!”¬ said Sun Wukong.¬ ¬ “Or give me all your money now!” said the demon.¬

113

¬ “We only have credit cards,” said Xuan Zang.¬ ¬ “I don’t want to give her a credit card! I have to eat!” said¬ Pigsy.¬ ¬ The demon had no choice but to run away.¬ ¬ “Yay! That was awesome!” said Pigsy.¬ ¬ The police arrived and they explained what had happened. “We¬ will take you home, back to your master,”¬ ¬ Back at the temple, the four friends told the master what had¬ happened. “Now, I know why you taught us how to use a¬ cellphone!” said Sun Wukong.¬ ¬ “Actually, there is no such medicine that makes you live¬ forever,” said the old monk. “But now you can be much happier¬ by helping each other and using cellphones that save your¬ time.”¬ ¬ Sun Wukong was a little bit disappointed, but he realized living¬ forever is not important anymore. Sun Wukong went back to the¬ monkey land and lived happily ever after.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

114

NEW JOURNEY TO THE¬ WEST¬ Justin Woo 5L¬ ¬¬ There were three people in Beijing, China. They were Sun Wu¬ Kong, Piggy and Master Tong. Sun Wu Kong was a disciple of the¬ master; he looked like a monkey. He obeyed his master. He¬ carried a long copper stick for fighting. Piggy was also a disciple¬ of the master. He looked like a fat pig with big ears. He obeyed¬ his master but felt jealous about Sun Wu Kong. He was a nice¬ person, but he was lazy and under-confident. He carried an axe¬ to protect his master. Master Tong was the master. He liked¬ reading.¬ ¬ One day, Master Tong told his disciples that he wanted to travel¬ to the west of China to explore and have new adventures. They¬ spent one day packing their luggage, then left home on Monday¬ morning, and went through the Great Wall of China. Suddenly,¬ there was a thunderstorm. They fell from the wall to a cliff.¬ Piggy was so heavy that he could not climb back up. Master¬ Tong used his magic to turn Piggy to be small and light, so that¬ Piggy could climb up the cliff. The rain stopped and the rainbow¬ came out. The sky turned dark at night. They set up a tent to¬ sleep. Piggy snored loudly while sleeping, so he slept outside by¬ himself.¬ ¬ On Tuesday morning, they woke up and started their journey.¬ They sat on a cloud to fly to South West. They reached the¬ Himalayan Mountains. The weather was freezing. They reached¬ the peak of Mount Everest, which was the top of the world.¬ Since there was not enough air and oxygen to breathe, so Piggy¬ and Sun Wu Kong felt uncomfortable. They quickly flew downhill¬ to India. They saw a very beautiful temple. They went inside¬

115

the temple to rest and eat some food. Some people came over¬ to say hi to the three visitors. The Indians gave them curry rice¬ to eat. They loved the curry and brought some curry powder¬ with them. After their big meal, they travelled north to¬ Kazakhstan. They saw nothing but horses to the north. They¬ reached Russia at night.¬ ¬ On Wednesday morning, they travelled to Moscow and looked¬ around. They saw the Red Square and the Kremlin Palace. The¬ Russians gave them caviar to eat. Piggy ate a lot and felt sleepy.¬ Then they travelled to St. Petersburg. They saw a large and¬ charming palace with a huge garden.¬ ¬ On Thursday, they flew to Scotland. They saw many castles and¬ lakes. They rested at a lake. Sun Wukong took a boat to catch¬ fish. Suddenly, a giant sea monster emerged and opened its big¬ mouth. Piggy and Master Tong went back to the land. Sun¬ Wukong used his copper stick to fight the monster. He broke the¬ monster’s teeth. The monster is in pain and swam away. Piggy a¬ lot of salmon with them.¬ ¬ On Friday, they flew to Egypt. They saw the pyramids. In one of¬ the pyramids, they saw a sign written as “There is gold inside,¬ find it or die!” They went inside to search for gold. It was a¬ maze inside and it was very dark. They heard noise from ghosts.¬ Mummies turned into lives. Sun Wukong used his stick to beat¬ the mummies. Master Tong used super power to shrink himself¬ and Piggy to tiny size. Since there were more mummies coming,¬ Sun WuKong was too tired to fight. Sun Wu Kong used super¬ power to become invisible. The mummies left. Then, Sun Wu¬ Kong turned the master and Piggy back to normal size. Sun Wu¬ Kong saw a big rock blocking an exit in front of them. Beside the¬ rock there was a pot full of soil with water dripping from the¬ ceiling. Then Master Tong looked up. A pipe stuck out from the¬ ceiling. It was dripping water into the pot. “This pipe must be¬ connected to the exit,” said Master Tong.¬¬ ¬

116

Piggy smiled, “Plants need water to grow, but they need¬ sunlight too.”¬¬ ¬ ¬ Master Tong turned to Sun Wu Kong, “Please shine some light¬ and pour more water to the pot,” he said. Sun Wu Kong made¬ some fire to pour light to the pot. He also made a bucket of¬ water to pour light to the pot. He also made a bucket of water¬ to pour to the pot.¬ ¬ The soil began to stir. A small green shoot sprang up. “It’s¬ working!” Piggy cheered. The green shoot grew into a thick¬ vine. The vine grew out of the pot. More vines grew across the¬ floor towards the big round rock. As they grew, they pushed the¬ rock and opened the doorway. They went inside the room.¬ There were many gold and treasures inside. However, there was¬ also a knight carrying shield and sword. He said, “If you want¬ the gold, you have to overcome me first.” Sun Wu Kong fought¬ against the knight, but the knight was strong and powerful. Sun¬ Wu Kong turned himself invisible, and kept hitting the knight¬ from his back. The knight surrendered. They took some of the¬ gold bricks, silver plates, diamonds, jewels, treasures, coins and¬ bronze necklaces.¬ ¬ The three then came out from the pyramid and rode the camels¬ in the desert. Suddenly some cobras and lizards came out and¬ chased them. They jumped off the camels and sat on a small¬ cloud to fly away. They thought hard of where they were going¬ home. They flew for two days. When they arrived home it was¬ afternoon, there were many people on the street. They said,¬ “The bears keep stealing our food at night.” The three guys¬ quickly went to the forest then they saw a big army of bears.¬ Sun Wu Kong used his magic to make a gigantic sword and killed¬ all the bears. The people all cheered to the three guys and¬ Piggy throw all the treasures to the people. They were all happy¬ at last.¬

117

The New Journey to The¬ West¬ Joshua Yap 5K¬ ¬¬ Once upon a time, there was a team on a mission. Their mission¬ was to find a new source of life to save the Earth because the¬ Earth was dying, and their names were Monk, Monkey King,¬ Pigsy and Sansa. Monk was a Buddhist teacher, he was very¬ kind. Monkey King was very naughty and rude, but he could turn¬ into seventy-two different versions of himself. Pigsy was very¬ fat, lazy and very slow. Sansa was very strict and always mad.¬ ¬ Their mission was to get the crystal of new life but they always¬ met monsters on their way. Some of them looked like they¬ were good, but they were not; however, only the Monkey King¬ could see if they were good or bad. When he attacked them,¬ Monk did not know they were good or bad, so he stopped them.¬ This made the Monkey king quit, Pigsy stopped and Sansa¬ followed. Monk asked them to come back. The monsters were so¬ happy that the Monk was alone, so the monsters could kidnap¬ him easily without protection. When they knew, they came back¬ to save him and he killed them all.¬ ¬ They continued to find the crystal of new life. During their¬ journey to the west they always met a lot of hardship and¬ challenges on their way, but they never gave up, kept going and¬ fought till the end.¬¬ ¬ It took them 35 years to find the place where the crystal of new¬ life was hidden. The place was like a cave but it was not a cave;¬ it was a dungeon. It was really dark and there were billions of¬ rock. They had to climb up and down until they reached the¬ center of the dungeon, there were millions of crystals; and they¬

118

had to be there for 5 days to try and find the real crystal of life!¬ Suddenly Monkey king saw the real crystal of life and they¬ brought it back to the temple and they saved the Earth. They¬ became the true heroes.¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

119

New Journey to the¬ West¬ Denise 5K¬ ¬¬ After the Monkey King became a Buddha, he felt bored and had¬ nothing to do on a day to day basis. So his naughty and tricky¬ evil heart became desperate again. So the Buddha one again¬ threw the Monkey King into the mortal world and reclaimed his¬ gold hoop, and made the magic disappear ageing him a mortal.¬ ¬ When the Monkey King arrived in the world, because of his¬ unusual shape, everyone hit him with stones. He was hungry for¬ he had money to buy food, so he went to steal food at¬ restaurants. He set food again and again, and broke into other¬ people’s houses steal items It seemed hopeless, and gradually¬ all people saw him, everyone hit him. And the people did not¬ give him food and he was seriously ill again. He had no stamina¬ at all. He was desperation he became a beggar on the side of a¬ road, but everyone thought he was a bad person and were not¬ willing to give money to him. So he was lying on road due to¬ poverty and illness, almost dying.¬ ¬¬ One day a rich man’s daughter passed and saw the ill-fated Sun¬ Wukong lying on the on the edge road, dying and she decide to¬ help him because she thought that Sun Wukong did not get¬ everyone’s love. The rich man’s daughter took the Monkey King¬ to the temple and took care of him through the help of the in¬ the temple. She visited him every day and also asked doctor to¬ heal his illness. After a period of time, the doctor healed his¬ illness. After a period of time, the body of Sun Wukong was¬ grateful to the daughter of the rich person, he started to¬ believe that this world was originally full of love.¬ ¬

120

The Monkey King was very moved and determined to give¬ something back to the society.¬ Forever, when the mortal people stayed in the temple to do¬ things, and helped very lonely people, he was originally a fairy¬ god. His wild nature was often blamed by some ignorant people,¬ let his wild repeatedly attacked, but in the dead of the night he¬ would think he been helped by the rich daughter 100 years ago.¬ He would never forget her helping him when he was¬ impoverished d ill, teaching him what love was. When he¬ remembered this, his wild nature was also slowly tamed and he¬ asked the celestial being in the temple Buddha to give himself¬ control and keep him from being wild.¬ ¬ After 500 years, Monkey King’s wild nature had completely¬ disappeared. He had become a gentle and caring person, and¬ even today he continues to help those who need it, including¬ the elderly, orphans and the handicapped, and helps animals. At¬ this time, the Buddha knew that Monkey King had completely¬ overcome his wild nature, so he was called upon to return to¬ the fairy community but Sun Wukong decided to remain in the¬ mortal world to continue doing good. The Buddha returned to¬ his original manner, giving him 72 changes that would allow him¬ or her to help the suffering people and animals.¬ ¬ It has been 3000 years since it was said that Sun Wukong had¬ become a doctor who healed many patients. He became a¬ philanthropist and set up a nursing home and an aristocrat. He¬ had become a lover of animals, taking care of stray animals.¬ ¬ Now he continues to be with you and me, changing into¬ different people doing good deeds. You yourself could be the¬ Monkey King.¬ ¬

121

New Journey To The¬ West¬ Ethan Cheng 6V¬ ¬¬ Last year, one day when I went to school, I saw some strange¬ people. They wore strange clothes and walked to KIS. I asked¬ them, "Who are you?" They said, "We are from a famous story¬ called Journey to the West." "No way! This is not real!" I said. I¬ tried to take off their masks but I couldn't, so I knew that was¬ real.¬¬ ¬¬ Then I asked them, "What are your names?" "My name is Monk;¬ they are my apprentices. He is Sand Monk. He is Monkey King.¬ He is Pig." "Why do you come to Hong Kong?" I asked. Monk¬ Master said," I don't know why we came here. Maybe we fell¬ down into a hole and that brought us to Hong Kong."¬ ¬¬ At school I told my classmates and teachers. They said they too¬ wanted to join that journey.¬¬ ¬¬ After school Monk and his apprentices asked me some questions¬ like "What is this year?", " When can we go back?", " Where do¬ we sleep?', "Is this city good?"¬ ¬¬ When I arrived home I asked my mum "Can Monkey King, Monk¬ Master, Pig and Sand Monk sleep for a year at our home?" She¬ said, "No, they may steal our money." I said, "Please, mum!¬ They will not do so.” Mum said, “OK, but why are they coming¬ to Hong Kong?" I said "They may have fallen down a hole and¬ reached here." A few minutes later my father came home.¬ Monk King shouted "Who are you? Are you a monster?' My father¬ was scared, so Monk King asked, "Why is he so scared?” "Because¬ of your weapon," I said. Then I asked my father to come out¬

122

and told him about the "Journey to the West" story. I also told¬ him that they will stay at our home for 1 year. My father said¬ "Oh My God!" and he fell down!¬¬ ¬¬ When we arrived at the hospital, I asked "Dad, why did you fall¬ down?" He answered "Because I was so surprised"¬¬ ¬¬ Two hours later we all went to a restaurant and ate steak. The¬ monkey king thought the steak was not good and shouted at the¬ waiter and asked "Why did you give me an undercooked steak?"¬ The waiter said "I shall cook the beef again." Thank you," said¬ Monkey King.¬ ¬¬ After 1 hour we went back home. Then we watched "Journey to¬ the West." Monkey King, sand Monk, Pig and Monk Master asked¬ "Why are our faces on the television?" I answered "Because this¬ is a movie about "Journey to the West" and it is not real."¬ ¬¬ I later asked them, "Why do you need to look for the books on¬ Buddhism?" Monk Master answered "The Buddha books can teach¬ us how to be a whole person and help the world." I asked,¬ "What is a whole person?" He said, "A whole person has many¬ benefits. Overall, it can improve self-awareness,¬ self-knowledge and social relations and will make everyone help¬ others." "Oh! It is so good and meaningful!" I said.¬ ¬¬ I told these conversations to the whole school. The next day KIS¬ principal called me "I have a challenge for you and the team. It¬ is about playing football with 10 other students at Korean¬ International School - International section. If you lose, you will¬ need to do 5 other challenges. If you win, you can get the holy¬ books on Buddhism that you want. The match is tomorrow at¬ 5:00pm. See you tomorrow, good luck!" Then I told them about¬ the football match challenge. Monk Master said, "We need to¬ practise football now. We need to win this game because we¬ need to get the books on Buddhism and share them with the¬ world."¬

123

¬¬ The next day at 5:00pm the challenge started. Monk Master¬ said, "Wait a minute; where is Pig?" Monkey King said, "I will go¬ to find him." "OK!" replied Monk Master. Monkey King went to a¬ lot of places like our home, cinema etcetera, but still could not¬ find him. At last he went to a Chinese restaurant to eat. But¬ when he came back, the challenge was over! We had lost the¬ match.¬¬ ¬¬ Suddenly we saw a flash and we saw someone and he helped us¬ change the principal. Monk Master asked "Who is this?" I¬ answered "This is Doraemon, he is a famous Japanese cartoon¬ character. He has a lot of magical power and can help you.”¬¬ ¬¬ After that Doraemon used his miraculous tools and successfully¬ brought Monkey King, Pig, Monk Master and Sand Monk to get¬ the holy Buddhist books.¬ ¬¬ Everyone was so happy, thanks to Doraemon!!¬ ¬¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

124

New Journey to the¬ West: A Trip to Tokyo¬ Jane Tam 6V¬ ¬¬ ¬¬ Last Tuesday, Judy Hopps the volunteer, was telling the¬ Shopkins about a trip to Mount Fuji. “Tomorrow we will be going¬ to Mount Fuji in Tokyo. Also, I will introduce my friends to you¬ all: they are Monkey King, Xuanzang, Zhu Bajie (Pigsy) and Friar.¬ Four of them are my friends. We will meet them in the Shopville¬ International Airport.” Judy Hopps said to all the Shopkins¬ delightfully, “When I call your names, please step forward,¬ Prickles, Mintee, Sadie Soccerball, Doggy Bowl, Peely Potato,¬ Dennis Bat, June Balloon, Milly Mushroom, D’lish Donut, Woody¬ Garden Chair, Polly Teapot and April Apricot. I could not leave¬ you alone at the airport.”¬ ¬¬ The next morning, they got on the shuttle bus and headed to¬ the airport. When they arrived at the check-in counter, they¬ met Monkey King, Xuanzang, Pigsy and Friar. “Is that true? Am I¬ dreaming now?” asked a shocked Prickles. Suddenly, Monkey¬ King yelled, “I forgot to bring my passport! How can I get on the¬ airplane?” Xuanzang comforted him peacefully, “Relax, Monkey,¬ everything can be solved. Take a deep breath and you will¬ figure out a solution to the problem.” Judy Hopps wanted to¬ help Monkey King as well, she asked him if he remembered¬ where the passport had been last placed. Monkey King replied at¬ once, “Wait! I can use my magic wand to create my own¬ passport….I forgot I have magic!” He laughed craftily. Within a¬ few seconds, they all saw Monkey King holding a passport in his¬ hand! “We can’t believe it! He really knows magic!” yelled all¬ the surprised Shopkins.¬ ¬¬

125

In the airplane, they learnt how to fasten the seatbelts, finding¬ an exit in case there was an emergency and so on. All of them¬ were very excited. During mealtime, Pigsy was so hungry, he¬ could not survive without eating ravenously; he almost wanted¬ to snatch Friar’s meal set. But it was seen by Monkey King. He¬ used the magic wand to hit Pigsy’s hand. “I ordered 5 meals for¬ you already, we all know you need food to survive,” he said to¬ Pigsy angrily. When the airplane landed at Narita International¬ Airport, all the Shopkins, Judy Hopps and Monkey King’s friends¬ were very delighted, they could not wait to go hiking along¬ Mount Fuji.¬ ¬¬ The next day, after breakfast, they joined the local tour at¬ Prince Hotel. When they arrived in Mount Fuji, all the Shopkins¬ were playing snowballs and building a snowman together. “Hey!¬ That snowman just looked like me!” exclaimed April happily.¬ Suddenly, there was a fire in the kitchen in one of the¬ restaurants near Mount Fuji. It looked like the stove exploded in¬ the food shop. “Oh no! What are we going to do? The people are¬ in danger!” shouted Doggy Bowl. “We are going to save them¬ now! Shopkins, put on the masks and save the people at once.¬ After that, put out the fire with water,” said Judy Hopps. So the¬ Shopkins followed her instructions and saved the people. After¬ the people were saved, the Shopkins told her that the corn in¬ the stove was burnt. The people thanked them sincerely and¬ went back to the shop. Suddenly, it started to snow. All of the¬ Shopkins didn’t have enough warm clothes to go hiking. “I will¬ use my magic to make your hats, mittens, scarves and jackets.¬ No worries, my friends,” explained Monkey King immediately. So¬ all the Shopkins had hats, mittens, scarves and jackets to stay¬ warm magically. “Thanks so much, Monkey King!” said all the¬ Shopkins politely. When all the Shopkins came back to the hotel,¬ it was time for dinner. They planned to eat sushi at a Japanese¬ restaurant. “I love salmon! It is my favourite fish,” quipped¬ Prickles happily. After dinner, all the Shopkins went to the hot¬ spring nearby. “That was so nice and relaxing! I wish Shopville¬

126

had hot springs too!” said Peely Potato joyfully. After the¬ Shopkins were done with the hot spring, they went to bed early.¬ ¬¬ The next morning, all the Shopkins were going to the Ueno zoo¬ to see the pandas, tigers and lions. After they arrived, all the¬ Shopkins had to get a ticket each. They were so excited and¬ could not stop playing with the other animals. When Judy Hopps¬ saw the bunnies, she thought all the bunnies were so cute. Soon¬ Monkey King started climbing up the banana trees. Then he had¬ a race with the other monkeys: whoever could get the most¬ bananas would be the winner. They all knew the winner would¬ be Monkey King.¬ ¬¬ “I am the winner!” shouted Monkey King proudly. The funniest¬ thing was when they saw Pigsy eating with the other . It was¬ very funny! And then, they went to see the forest animals but¬ they had to be very quiet because the forest animals were¬ sensitive about loud noises. “Wow! I saw a lot of bats! I haven’t¬ seen a bat in Shopville yet!” exclaimed June Balloon excitedly.¬ When the clock struck 7:00 pm, all of them were very hungry,¬ especially Pigsy, his tummy was rumbling. The others could not¬ stop laughing at him! Xuanzang was very smart, he searched for¬ a restaurant right away. He wanted to help Pigsy solve his¬ hunger problem. “I got it! Let’s eat some grilled meat. We¬ haven’t eaten it before,” said Xuanzang cheerfully. “Sure!” said¬ all the Shopkins. When they got some grilled meat, Pigsy¬ gobbled all the meat he got. “Slow down, Pigsy! You are eating¬ too fast!” said Dennis. Pigsy nodded and finished all the meat¬ slowly then. After that, they all went back to the hotel and had¬ hot spring bath together. Woody thought the water was a bit too¬ hot. “Wow! The water looks like 40 degree Celsius!” she¬ exclaimed, “But I enjoyed it very much!” After that, the¬ Shopkins went to their rooms and went to bed early.¬ ¬¬ The next day, Judy told all the Shopkins that they were going¬ back to Shopville International Airport. They had to say good¬ bye to Monkey King, Xuanzang, Pigsy and Friar for helping them¬

127

go to different places in Tokyo. When the clock struck 2:30 pm,¬ the Shopkins got on the airplane. “This was a fun trip! There¬ were so many different places we went to and I really liked all¬ of them! I liked all the animals, such as penguins and dolphins. I¬ also liked Mount Fuji because we could play snowball and build¬ a snowman,” said Minty. Replied Prickles cheerfully, “But today¬ is the best day ever!!!”¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

128

The Monkey King¬ Andy Lau 6C¬ ¬¬ I heard about a monkey; he was big and strong!¬ He was the king of the jungle.¬¬ ¬¬ "I will battle you once and for all!"¬ I took my sword, and I was ready to go.¬ ¬¬ I hid behind the trees and I saw him sitting there...¬ Playing in the sand.¬ ¬¬ I poked him with my sword on the finger,¬ He ran off screaming through the trees,¬ Like a little child, and he said,¬ "Now you are the new monkey king!"¬

129

Cover Art¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

130

¬ Achintya Aggarwal 3C¬

131

Olivia Lee 4D¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ 132

¬ Jayne Kim 4D¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

133

¬ Anjitha Nair 6V¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬ ¬

134

¬ Giselle Maryon 6C¬

135